Identity Performance in British Rock and Indie Music:

Authenticity, Stylization, and Glocalization

Christine Schulze
Centre for Languages and Literature
Master's Thesis, 30 hp (SPVR0!
"nglish Language and Linguistics
#une $0%
Super&ision '( )r* +rancis M* ,ult
-'stract
This .aster/s thesis, departing fro. the 0or1 done '( Peter Trudgill and Paul Si.pson, ai.s
at 0idening the scope of research on the identit( perfor.ance of 2ritish roc1 and indie
.usicians '( ta1ing into account the influences and intersections of local and glo'al social
conte3ts* 4t not onl( anal(zes the .usicians/ accents 'ut also focuses on their l(rics, .usic
&ideos and state.ents in inter&ie0s* The different t(pes of data are anal(zed for references of
place in relation to theories of discourse, st(lization and authenticit(* The thesis applies the
concept of glocalization, 0hich has 'een 0idel( used in studies of hip hop .usic, to the
genres roc1 and indie in order to e3plain ho0 local and glo'al forces influence discursi&e
identit( production, particularl( in relation to popular culture* The first phase of the stud( is a
l(rical anal(sis of fi&e 2ritish 'ands* 2ased on the results of the first phase, three 'ands 0ere
chosen for in5depth .ulti.odal discourse anal(sis in a second phase* Results sho0 ho0 the
'ands' identit( perfor.ances 0ere changed and (re!shaped o&er the course of their careers*
The stud( re&eals three different profiles of the approach to and the de&elop.ent of identit(
perfor.ance, highlighting the i.portance of indi&idualit( in the face of .ass .edia* 4n all,
0ith respect to .ethodolog(, the stud( illustrates the 'enefit of discourse5anal(tic case stud(
for the in&estigation of identit( perfor.ance '( .usical artists*
i
Ta'le of Contents
List of tables iv
1. Introduction 1
1.1. Sociolinuistics and the study of !o!ular music 1
1.". Summary of cha!ters #
". $ocalization and identity in musical !erformance %
".1. &rom 'rudill to (ou!land: Proression of !o!ular music research %
$*** 2uilding on Trudgill 6
$**$* Voice, place, perfor.ance and genre 3
$**3* The progression of 2ritish .usic research in a nutshell 7
".". Research into lo)al hi! ho! 1*
+. 'heory and methods "#
+.1. 'heoretical )ackround ",
3*** )iscourse theor( $8
3**$* 4dentit( and place in discourse $9
+.". Methodoloy +-
3*$** The 'ands 30
3.2.1.1. Biffy Clyro 31
3.2.1.2. Arctic Monkeys 31
3.2.1.3. Maximo Park 31
3.2.1.4. Kaiser Chiefs 32
3.2.1.. !no" Patrol 32
3*$*$* )ata collection 3$
3.2.2.1. Lyrical #ata 33
3.2.2.2. Phonolo$ical #ata 34
3.2.2.3. M%sic vi#eo #ata 3&
3.2.2.4. 'ntervie" #ata 3(
3*$*3* )ata anal(sis 39
3.2.3.1. Analysis of )lace in lyrics 3*
3.2.3.2. Analysis of the )honolo$ical #ata 3+
3.2.3.3. Analysis of m%sic vi#eo #ata 3+
3.2.3.4. Analysis of intervie" #ata 4,
#. Analysis and findins #"
#.1. Summary of !lace instances in the lyrics #"
ii
#.". Analysis of Biffy (lyro #*
%*$** L(rical anal(sis %:
%*$*$* Phonological anal(sis 8
%*$*3* Place instances in .usic &ideos 88
%*$*%* )ata fro. inter&ie0s 70
%*$*8* )iscussion 78
#.+. Analysis of the Arctic Monkeys %%
%*3** L(rical anal(sis 77
%*3*$* Phonological anal(sis :0
%*3*3* Place instances in .usic &ideos :%
%*3*%* )ata fro. inter&ie0s :9
%*3*8* )iscussion 9%
#.#. Analysis of Ma.imo Park /,
%*%** L(rical anal(sis 98
%*%*$* Phonological anal(sis 96
%*%*3* Place instances in .usic &ideos 6
%*%*%* )ata fro. inter&ie0s 63
%*%*8* )iscussion 67
,. (onclusion 0/
,.1. Summary of the analysis 0/
,.". (onclusions dra1n from the analysis 1--
,.+. Similarities and differences )et1een the )ands 1-#
,.#. Suestions for further research 1-%
-eferences 1,*
iii
List of ta'les
'a)le +.1. Phonological &aria'les in northern "nglish "nglish and -.erican "nglish 37
'a)le +.". Phonological &aria'les in Scottish "nglish and -.erican "nglish 37
'a)le #.1. 4nstances of place reference in l(rics %%
'a)le #.". Phonological anal(sis of 2iff( Cl(ro, o&erall 8$
'a)le #.+. Phonological anal(sis of 2iff( Cl(ro, $00$5$00% 8$
'a)le #.#. Phonological anal(sis of 2iff( Cl(ro, $00:5$03 8$
'a)le #.,. Phonological anal(sis of the -rctic Mon1e(s, o&erall :
'a)le #.%. Phonological anal(sis of the -rctic Mon1e(s, $0075$006 :
'a)le #.*. Phonological anal(sis of the -rctic Mon1e(s, $05$03 :
'a)le #./. Phonological anal(sis of Ma3i.o Par1, o&erall 96
'a)le #.0. Phonological anal(sis of Ma3i.o Par1, $0$5$0% 60
i&
1. Introduction
;<4=t is hard to see ho0 0e can proceed 0ith an( stud( of language, culture,
glo'alization and engage.ent 0ithout dealing co.prehensi&el( 0ith popular culture;
(Penn(coo1, $00:a, p* 9!*
1.1. Sociolinuistics and the Study of Po!ular Music
Popular .usic and popular culture has 'een gaining scholarl( attention recentl(* 4n
sociolinguistics, this is partl( due to the fact that perfor.ers ta1e part in a process of
.ediation 'et0een their local identities and the glo'al pheno.enon of .ass5.edia* This
.eans that different cultures interact 0ith each other in different 0a(s and often create 0hat
in hip5hop literature is called 'glocalization' (-li., $006> -li. ? Penn(coo1, $00:'> Lee,
$00!* @localization i.plies that local cultural features are e3ported into a glo'al conte3t and
&ice &ersa* This is a process that is al.ost ine&ita'le in the post5.odern glo'alized 0orld, as
;cultural reproduction is no0ada(s lin1ed to .ass5.ediated representations and
perfor.ances; (Coupland, $00, p* 38!, 0hich gi&es the 0a( actors in .ass .edia perfor.
culture su'stantial 0eight* Au.erous studies ha&e 'een conducted on this topic, especiall( in
the 0orld of glo'al hip hop (e*g* -ndroutsopoulous, $00'> Penn(coo1, $003!*
- large &ariet( of .ass5.ediated for.s of popular culture 0ould fit under the ru'ric
of glocalization* -s -ndroutsopoulos ($00a! descri'es itB ;Se.iotic .o'ilit( and local
adaptation in&ol&e, '( definition, a (usuall( co.ple3 and e3tensi&e! process of .ediation,
and the( are situated 0ithin so.e for. of popular culture such as radio tal1, popular .usic,
or lifest(le .agazines; (p* $08!* The present stud( focuses on one of these &arieties of
popular culture, na.el( roc1 and indie .usic* 4n this &ariet(, it see1s to 'uild on 0hat 0as
started '( Trudgill (69%!, 0ho studied 2ritish .usicians' tendenc( to adapt their accent to a
stereot(pical role .odel of an -.erican pronunciation* This 0as at a ti.e 0hen the stud( of

language &ariet( 0as still .ainl( concerned 0ith the stud( of regional &arieties* -s
sociolinguistics de&eloped further, .ore la(ers 0ere added to 0hat &ariet( of language .eans
and these de&elop.ents increasingl( as1ed for stud(ing it in a social as 0ell as regional
conte3t* 4t is in this fra.e0or1 that the present stud( 0ill operate* Popular .usic has .an(
facets that .a1e it a useful focus of stud( in sociolinguisticsB
Crdinariness and &ernacularit(, &oicing and perfor.ance, are esta'lished the.es in
sociolinguistics, and research on the role of .ass .edia in circulating and
reconstructing ideologies of language, class and co..unit( is accelerating*
<***= 4n this conte3t popular song, e&en loosel( defined, .erits sociolinguistic
attention* (Coupland, $0, p* 8:9!
4n the face of glo'alization, popular .usic, as 0ell as other for.s of popular culture,
spreads o&er the 0orld faster than e&er 'efore* Perfor.ers in this field therefore ha&e to adapt
to this condition and choose to adapt to an international culture or carr( out their local culture
onto an international .ar1et* This is 0hat .a1es their identit( discourse especiall( intriguing*
;The glo'al .usic industr( is no0 e3periencing increasing h('ridization in &isual, aural and
l(rical di.ensions of .usic production and perfor.ance, 0hich is an interesting outco.e of
glocalization; (Lee, $00, p* %0!* The present stud( tries to anal(ze this h('ridization, '(
focusing on a 2ritish roc1 and indie .usic perspecti&e on processes of identit( for.ation in
the conte3t of glo'al popular culture*
+orces of glo'alization such as the increased e3change 'et0een people fro. different
language 'ac1grounds ha&e 'een said to lead to increased dialect le&eling* #ohnstone ($00!
ho0e&er, suggests that glo'alization also spar1s a ne0 attention to local &ariet(* ;)ialect
le&eling and dialect a0areness in fact ha&e the sa.e origins 5 na.el( social and geographical
.o'ilit( and the discursi&e practices that arise in its 0a1e; (p* 397!* The noticing of linguistic
$
differences and the engage.ent 0ith these differences, in this sense, does not onl( lead to
their disappearance, 'ut also to a 0ish for the. to 'e retained* This is then a case in 0hich
local for.s are .ade glo'al, a for. of glocalization* ,ence, regional identit( 0ill still 'e one
of the .ain focuses of this stud(, although in a 'road sense, not onl( focusing on dialect 'ut
on other 0a(s to .a1e place se.ioticall( .eaningful and put local culture into the conte3t of
glo'al culture* Ae&ertheless, the stud( of regional &ariet( of language deser&es attention in
this stud(*
The 0ish to retain a local dialect in the face of glo'alization coincides 0ith ,eller's
($00! discussion of glo'al .ar1ets in general* The glo'al econo.( gi&es its participants
reasons to 'oth standardize their products and to regionalize the.* @enerall(, co.peting on a
glo'al .ar1et .eans standardization, ho0e&er ;the saturation of industrial .ar1ets for
standardized products has led to an increasing focus on niche .ar1ets and on adding &alue to
standardized goods, often in the for. of s(.'olic &alue; (p* 380!* Dhen appl(ing the
concept of econo.( to language, standardization of language &arieties .ight 'e a trend on a
glo'al .ar1et* ,o0e&er, using regional for.s can also add social &alue to the perfor.ance
and therefore appeal to niche .ar1ets, and .ore specificall( in popular .usic, local
audiences*
To e3plore ho0 these forces 0or1, the present stud( anal(zes linguistic and &ideo
.aterial fro. different 2ritish 'ands in order to 'uild on Trudgill's (69%! findings and
incorporate and e3panding 'od( of sociolinguistic principles* The stud( 0ill not tr( to spea1
for 2ritish artists in general, although an ai. is to find patterns in the processes of identit(
for.ation that different perfor.ers .ight share* ,o0e&er, as #ohnstone and Mattson 2ean
(66:! ha&e argued, the stud( of regional &ariation not onl( 0ent a0a( fro. the uni.odal
anal(sis of phonological features 'ut also increasingl( ga&e a higher &alue to the indi&idualB
3
;4ndi&idualit( .ediates 'et0een social facts and linguistic ones> and though it is the least
tracta'le &aria'le of all (not Euantifia'le, &er( hard to descri'e!, it is an essential part of ho0
details of &ariation co.e to 'e; (p* $37!* This stresses the i.portance of case studies, a
position that Leeu0en and Sulei.an ($00! also ta1e, 0hen the( state that the interaction of
the glo'al and the local is highl( co.ple3 and in the need of 'eing e3plored case '( case
instead of generalized* This stud( ai.s to add to the a.ount of case studies .ade in the field
of popular .usic 'ecause e&er( artist has a different heritage, sociocultural and linguistic
'ac1ground that could influence the outco.e of glocalization, therefore calling for an
indi&idual assess.ent of these factors* The follo0ing section 0ill shortl( outline the chapters
to co.e*
1.". Summary of (ha!ters
Chapter $ is a literature re&ie0 that 0ill introduce earlier studies done particularl( on
regional &ariation in 2ritish .usic '( Trudgill (69%! and P* Si.pson (666! and then present
.ore inclusi&e studies of research into popular .usic* 4t puts the focus on research in the
areas of &oice, place, perfor.ance and genre, .ainl( '( Coupland ($0!* This o&er&ie0 is
follo0ed '( an introduction to studies of glo'al hip hop, for e3a.ple '( Penn(coo1 ($003,
$00:'! and -li. ($006!* Topics used here, such as authenticit( and glocalization, deepl(
influence the current stud(*
Chapter 3 presents the research Euestions of the stud( and introduces the theoretical
foundation* 4t offers an o&er&ie0 of practices of discourse anal(sis used in the present stud(
as 0ell as theories of identit( for.ation and instances of place as se.iotic resources* The
chapter then introduces the .ethodolog( e.plo(ed in the stud(, introducing the 'ands that
ha&e 'een chosen for in&estigation* +inall(, procedures of data collection and anal(sis are set
forth*
%
Chapter % then presents the findings and anal(sis* The stud( consists of four t(pes of
data* +i&e 'ands are glo'all( anal(zed for place references in their l(rics* -fter this, three
'ands are selected, for 0hich a detailed anal(sis of all t(pes of data is carried out* - .ore in5
depth place reference anal(sis of the l(rics of the three 'ands and a phonological anal(sis
deter.ine 0hether processes Trudgill (69%! found are still &isi'le for 2ritish 'ands toda(*
Then, si.ilar place references as those isolated fro. the l(rics 0ill 'e anal(zed in the 'ands'
.usic &ideos, adding a la(er of .ulti.odalit( to the stud(* The last data source is inter&ie0
articles, collected fro. online .agazines, that are anal(zed according to self5refle3i&e
state.ents of the 'ands*
+inall(, Chapter 8 0raps up the anal(sis '( isolating the processes of identit(
for.ation in 0hich the different 'ands engage and su..arizing ho0 the( .ediate the glo'al
and the local in the face of .ass .edia* Connections 'et0een the 'ands are dra0n and
differences highlighted to deter.ine 0hether processes of identit( perfor.ance across 'ands
are si.ilar or not*
8
". $ocalization and Identity in Musical Performance
This chapter presents an o&er&ie0 o&er pre&ious research that has 'een done in the
area of .usic and perfor.ance* Studies 0hich focus on the language used in .usic are
readil( a&aila'le and their nu.'er has increased o&er ti.e, as popular culture 'eca.e an
increasingl( glo'alized pheno.enon* This re&ie0 of literature 'egins 0ith a chronological
o&er&ie0 o&er studies that ha&e focused on 2ritish roc1 and pop .usic* 4t starts out '(
recounting Trudgill's (69%! 0or1 on the .odification of local 2ritish accents to0ards an
-.ericanized stereot(pe and ends 0ith .ore recent research, 0hich factors in .ultiple
sources of identit( for.ation other than accent in fa&or of an anal(sis of identit( perfor.ance
as a 0hole* - genre of .usic in 0hich this has alread( 'een achie&ed to a higher degree is hip
hop, 0here .ultiple studies are a&aila'le that co&er place references on a le3ical le&el,
influences of glo'alization, code5s0itching and other sources of identit( for.ation* So.e of
these studies are re&ie0ed in the second part of this chapter*
".1. &rom 'rudill to (ou!land: Proression of Po!ular Music Research
4n the 690's, Peter Trudgill conducted a stud( in 0hich he clai.s that the
.odification of accent of 2ritish singers 0as especiall( noticea'le since Fthe late 680's 0ith
the ad&ent of roc15and5roll and the pop5.usic re&olutionG (Trudgill, 69%, p* %!* ,e
anal(zed the pronunciation used '( 2ritish pop singers of the ti.e and ca.e to the
conclusion that there are si3 rules or tendencies 0hich are follo0ed 0hen .odif(ing the
spo1en accent of a 2ritish dialect* These tendencies areB
* Realization of inter&ocalic HtH as the 2ritish &ariants <t= and <I= is not per.itted*
$* Dords such as 'dance', 'last' and 'can't' are not per.itted to 'e realized 0ith the &o0el HaJH
3* Aon5pre&ocalic HrH is generall( pronounced
%* Dords such as 'life' and '.(' are pronounced 0ith a &o0el li1e <aK= instead of a diphthong*
7
8* Dords such as 'lo&e' and 'done' are pronounced 0ith a &o0el li1e <LK= instead of a 2ritish
&ariant*
7* Dords such as ''od(' or 'top' are pronounced 0ith an unrounded &o0el <M= instead of the
2ritish &ariant <N=*
Tr(ing to e3plain these tendencies, Trudgill offers that 'oth acco..odation theor(
and appropriateness go so.e 0a( 'ut not all the 0a(* ,e uses a definition adapted fro. @iles
and S.ith (6:6! and e3plains that acco..odation theor(
atte.pts to e3plain te.porar( or long5ter. adOust.ents in pronunciation and other
aspects of linguistic 'eha&iour in ter.s of a dri&e to appro3i.ate one's language to
that of one's interlocutors, if the( are regarded as sociall( desira'le andHor if the
spea1er 0ishes to identif( 0ith the. andHor de.onstrate good 0ill to0ards the.*
(Trudgill, 69%, p* %3!
The opposite, 0here language is used to distance oneself fro. the interlocutor, is also
a possi'ilit(* ,o0e&er, this theor( is ai.ed pri.aril( at e3plaining 'eha&ior in dialogues
'et0een con&ersation partners* Musicians are not al0a(s a0are of the social 'ac1ground of
the 0hole of their audience* Dhere the( are not confronted 0ith a ho.e audience, their
linguistic 'eha&ior does also not reflect that of their audiences* Therefore acco..odation
theor( can onl( 'e part of the e3planation*
-ppropriateness theor( assu.es that ;different situations, different topics, different
genres reEuire different linguistic st(les and registers; (Trudgill, 69%, p* %3!* This,
according to Trudgill, also clearl( pla(s a role in e3plaining the tendencies he found in pop5
.usic pronunciation* 4t could 'e argued to 'e a register that reEuires a certain set of linguistic
features, Oust li1e other registers do* Ae&ertheless, appropriateness does not e3plain 0h( it is
these tendencies that can 'e o'ser&ed in particularl( this t(pe of singing*
:
The theor( Trudgill does e.plo(, then, is LePage's theor( of linguistic 'eha&ior*
LePage's theor( sa(s that a general .oti&e for the .odification of linguistic 'eha&ior is to
Frese.'le as closel( as possi'le those of the group or groups 0ith 0hich fro. ti.e to ti.e
0e <spea1ers= 0ish to identif(G (as cited in Trudgill, 69%, p* %%!*
The group 0ith 0hich 2ritish singers tr( to identif(, 0as defined '( Trudgill loosel(
as the '-.ericans', as the si3 tendencies that ha&e 'een outlined a'o&e can all 'e found in
-.erican accents* Trudgill (69%! also clai.s the( are ;stereot(picall( associated '( the
2ritish 0ith -.erican pronunciation; (p*%%!* -dditionall(, to further strengthen his theor(
of the -.erican role .odel, he found that on a le3ical le&el, the tendenc( is also to e3change
2ritish 0ords 0ith -.ericanis.s used '( 2ritish spea1ers* The reason as to 0h(, according
to Trudgill, 2ritish singers 0ould 0ant to do identif( 0ith -.ericans as a role .odel is the
follo0ingB
-.ericans ha&e do.inated the field, and cultural do.ination leads to i.itationB it is
appropriate to sound li1e and -.erican 0hen perfor.ing in 0hat is predo.inantl(
and -.erican acti&it(> and one atte.pts to .odel one's singing st(le on that of those
0ho do it 'est and 0ho one ad.ires .ost* (Trudgill, 69%, p* %%!
4n spite of this, Trudgill has found so.e restraints on this .odification to0ards
-.erican "nglish* The use of the a'o&e rules is often irregular and inconsistent* 4t is also, for
e3a.ple, unclear 0hich specific -.erican accent is targeted '( the 2ritish singers and
features such as non5pre&ocalic HrH tend to 'e o&erused, e&en in positions 0here the( do not
'elong* -dditionall(, Trudgill found that it see.s 2ritish singers are so.eti.es not a'le to
pronounce the features conseEuentl( the -.erican 0a( during the 0hole course of singing*
Ae&ertheless, the usage of the features identified as stereot(picall( -.erican, along 0ith the
use of -.ericanis.s suggest the role .odel is -.erican, e&en if the outco.e is &aria'le*
9
4n his stud( of .ostl( the 2eatles and the Rolling Stones, Trudgill then goes on to
descri'e the decline of -.erican features after 67%* This change in .oti&ation to sound
-.erican 0as associated '( Trudgill 0ith a change in the t(pe of .usic the 2eatles .ade and
the general tendenc( of 2ritish .usic, at least for a 0hile, to do.inate the field (69%, p*
83!* "&en later, the rise of pun15roc1 .usic ca.e 0ith an e&en stronger decline of -.erican
features and an increase of features associated 0ith lo05prestige south of "ngland accents*
Trudgill clai.s that at that ti.e a ne0 .oti&ation had arisen and this .oti&ation 0as
to sound uniEuel( un5-.erican* The intended audience of pun1 .usic see.ed to 'e 2ritish
ur'an 0or1ing5class (outh and linguistic features 0ere used to appeal to and identif( 0ith
this group (Trudgill, 69%, p* 88!* ,ere, Trudgill clai.s acco..odation theor( .ight 'e
.ore applica'le* ,o0e&er, the old .oti&ation to sound -.erican did not disappear 'ut as
Trudgill states, sta(ed in conflict 0ith the ne0 .oti&ation for se&eral 'ands such as The
Clash or Sha. '76*
".1.1. Buildin on 'rudill. 4n 666, P* Si.pson 'uilt on Trudgill's 0or1 and
anal(zed .usic fro. the late :0's, the 90's and the earl( 60's* ,e used Trudgill's research and
isolated the tendencies he found into the ;PS-58 .odel; (P* Si.pson, 666, p* 3%8!, 0hich in
short includes the follo0ing featuresB
* the tapping or flapping of inter&ocalic HtH>
$* the .odification of long <MJ= in 0ords such as 'dance'>
3* pronunciation of non5pre&ocalic HrH>
%* the .odification of the HaQH glide in 0ords such as 'life', resulting in <laRf= and
8* pronouncing 0ords such as 'od( 0ith <M= rather than the 2ritish &ariant <N=*
+urther e3panding on Trudgill's 0or1, P* Si.pson puts for0ard so.e ideas in
accordance to de&elop.ents in sociolinguistics at the ti.e* )ra0ing on ,allida(, P* Si.pson
6
introduces three conte3tual deter.inants of registerB tenor, field and .ode* The tenor of a
discourse, in this case the perfor.ance of a song, descri'es the participants of said discourse
and their relationships to each other* -s such, tenor ;acts as a significant influence on the
selection of linguistic for.s; (P* Si.pson, 666, p* 38!* ,o0e&er, this deter.inant is less
applica'le in ter.s of .usic 'ecause, as .entioned 'efore, roc1 and pop singers' &ocal st(les
do not necessaril( reflect that of their i..ediate audience*
Mode of discourse refers to the ph(sical .ediu. of language* The i.portance of this
'eco.es clear, 0hen distinguishing 'et0een parts of a song 0here singers deli&er in a .ode
0hich is rather spo1en than sung* So.e data has suggested ;the less a singer 'sings', so to
spea1, the 0ea1er the influence of the e3ternal code and the stronger the appro3i.ation to the
singer's o0n &ernacular usage; (P* Si.pson, 666, p* 370!*
The third deter.inant, field, is .ore e3tensi&el( focused on '( P* Si.pson* +ield of
discourse refers to such areas as topic of the discourse and the purpose of the language e&ent*
P* Si.pson argues that field has great i.portance for the linguistic 'eha&ior of singers, as for
e3a.ple in the )ire Strait's song Money for .othin$, 0here the singing st(le see.s to 'e
influenced '( the topic of the song (P* Si.pson, 666, p* 38$!* Money for .othin$ is a'out a
drun1 .an fro. Ae0 Sor1, co..enting on the tele&ision progra. in a 'ar and it see.s the
singer is adapting his st(le to the speech of this .an, the .ain topic of the song*
4n other instances, P* Si.pson descri'es, it is difficult to deter.ine 0hether it is field,
i*e* topic of the song or the conte3t of the situation, for e3a.ple the audience, that influences
the singing st(le* ,o0e&er, the possi'ilit( that topic pla(s as .uch a role as conte3t is
undenia'le, 0hich leads P* Si.pson to spea1 for a dualis. of .oti&ationB ;2asicall(, singers
can respond pri.aril( to the constraints of genre and situation (0ho (ou are singing to and
for! or the constraints of topic and field (0hat (ou are singing a'out!; (P* Si.pson, 666, p*
0
38%!* The for.er is so.e0hat related to tenor, 0hile the latter refers to field*
P* Si.pson further e3plains that the influence of the social and political situation in
the PT after the pun1 .o&e.ent see.s to ha&e influenced .usic insofar as the PS-58 .odel
0as reinstated and .i3ed 0ith .ore prestige5carr(ing RP for.s of 2ritish "nglish* ,o0e&er,
this is not the onl( possi'le reason for a st(le shift* P* Si.pson argues instead that, as 0ell as
'eing a'le to react to outside forces, such as political changes, singers ha&e the a'ilit( to
;rein&ent; (P* Si.pson, 666, p* 38:! the.sel&es at a particular stage in their career* This he
calls an ;initiati&e; st(le shift (P* Si.pson, 666, p* 38:!, 0hich can, for e3a.ple, 'e 'rought
a'out '( a singer 0anting to proOect a different identit(, not out of concern for political or
cultural changes, 'ut a greater identification 0ith different social &alues* This 0as the case for
Van Morrison, 0ho in his earl( career 0as influenced '( the -.erican .odel, 0hile he later
rein&ented hi.self '( aspiring to identif( hi.self 0ith his 4rish roots* This self5initiated
change, 0hich influenced different aspects of his .usic such as singing st(le and use of
instru.ents ;is &er( .uch tied up to a sense of place and identit(; 'ut not so .uch a political
or social shift in the countr( (P* Si.pson, 666, p* 386!*
The 660's, P* Si.pson goes on, again sa0 a re&i&al of the PS-58 and -.ericanized
pronunciation in 2ritish roc1 and pop .usic in an e&er .ore glo'alized 0orld* ,o0e&er, it
see.s that the .oti&ation then, 0as not to sound -.erican, 'ut rather to sound li1e 'ands
that at a .uch earlier ti.e tried to sound -.erican* ;Modern '2ritpop' 'ands li1e Casis are
no0 assessed in ter.s of ho0 the( rese.'le older 'ands in the 2ritish popular .usic
tradition; (P* Si.pson, 666, p* 373!* Ta1ing up the e3a.ple of Casis, it see.s that the( .i3
-.erican features 0ith features of "nglish fro. Li&erpool, 0hich is 0here the 2eatles, not
Casis ste. fro.* 4t see.s, therefore, to P* Si.pson that the use of -.erican features starts to
co.e to full circle in the 660's*

4n su., P* Si.pson goes one step further than Trudgill, in that he lea&es the .ore
traditional dialectal anal(sis of .usic 'ehind and ta1es into account factors such as field and
.ode, the personal 'ac1ground of the 'ands in&ol&ed and the 0ider social and political
conte3t in 0hich the targeted audience e3ists*
- stud( on a specific 2ritish 'and 0as done '( 2eal ($006!, 0ho researched the
'ac1ground and .usic of the Sheffield5'ased 'and -rctic Mon1e(s* 2eal re&ie0s 'oth
Trudgill's and P* Si.pson's 0or1 and sets it in contrast to a 'and that specificall( targets a
northern 2ritish identit(* She sees the &alidit( of the for.er research 'ut argues for a
language5ideological perspecti&e instead, concluding that there has 'een a shift in .oti&ation
for using the PS-58 .odel 'ecause F0ithin the language5ideological fra.e0or1 linguistic
features are seen to 'eco.e associated 0ith social &alues so that the( acEuire inde3ical
.eaningG (2eal, $006, p* $$6!* Dhile the PS-58 0ere used earlier to aspire to sounding .ore
-.erican, the( 0ere later associated not 0ith -.ericanness 'ut rather 0ith .ainstrea.5pop
in general* This is 0hat the -rctic Mon1e(s see. to not 0ant to associate the.sel&es 0ith*
The -rctic Mon1e(s, instead of aspiring to 'e part of the .ainstrea. popular culture,
.a1e great use of features that associate the. 0ith the Sheffield area in "ngland* The PS-58
features are co.pletel( a'sent fro. the singer's accent* -le3 Turner instead uses &er(
traditional features of Sor1shire "nglish and le3ical ite.s associated 0ith his heritage* 2eal
also co.pared Turner's sung accent to his spo1en accent in an inter&ie0 and found 'oth to 'e
&er( si.ilar, suggesting, as she puts it, the singer is Fconsistentl( proOecting a local identit(G
(2eal, $006, p* $38!*
2eal discusses these findings 0ith reference to authenticit(, a so.e0hat elusi&e
concept* 2eal sa(s that Fin 'oth fol1 and indie .usic, local and regional accent and dialect
features inde3 authenticit(, 'ut perhaps for different reasons, 0hich relate to different
$
definitions of authenticit(G (2eal, $006, p* $3:!* Coupland ($003, $00:! for e3a.ple, has
suggested that authenticit( in&ol&es fi&e Eualities, t0o of 0hich pla( a stronger role in .usic*
Cne of the. is ;historicit(;, 0hich is often aspired to '( fol1 artists* +or things to ha&e the
Eualit( of ;historicit(;, the( ha&e to ha&e ;longe&it(> the( ha&e sur&i&ed* The( resist hu.an
agenti&e interference and are in that sense dura'le and e&en ti.eless; (Coupland, $003, p*
%9!* - second i.portant Eualit( of authenticit( is that of ;ontolog(;* Things ha&ing
;ontolog(; .eans that the( ha&e ;real e3istence, as opposed to a spurious or deri&ed
e3istence; (Coupland, $003, p* %9!* This second Eualit( can rather 'e connected to indie
.usic, 0here authenticit( is achie&ed '( descri'ing things as e3isting in a real 0orld, things
that the audience can relate to* -uthenticit( is also a recurring topic in studies on other .usic
genres, such as especiall( hip hop* ,ere the notion of '1eepin' it real' is often referred to, as
for e3a.ple '( Penn(coo1 ($00:'!* 'Teepin' it real' can easil( 'e associated to the Eualit( of
;ontolog(; (Coupland, $00:! and 4 0ill co.e 'ac1 to this concept in the section on hip hop
research 'elo0*
".1.". 2oice, !lace, !erformance and enre. Coupland ($0! hi.self ta1es up the
topic of .usical perfor.ance and 'egins '( criticizing Trudgill and P* Si.pson's 0or1 for
ta1ing a F'territorial inde3ical' understanding of placeG (p* 8:%!* Place should, in his opinion,
'e interpreted rather on a cultural than a regional le&el* -dditionall(, he argues that Trudgill
and P* Si.pson do not sufficientl( consider the difference 'et0een spea1ing and singing as
Fdistinct co..unicati&e .odesG (Coupland, $0, p* 8:8! and criticizes the a'sence of the
perfor.ance aspect of popular .usic* 4n his o0n stud(, Coupland ta1es a different stance on
these issues, addressing .ostl( &oice and place, genre and perfor.ance*
-ccording to Coupland ($0!, place in .usic perfor.ance has four respects* The
first respect includes the use of dialect as a place inde3, as 0ell the possi'ilit( of 0hole
3
genres of popular .usic 'eing felt to 'elong to a certain space* -n e3a.ple 0ould 'e the
affiliation of countr( .usic 0ith the cultural space of co0'o(s and the countr(side* Secondl(,
l(rics can &er( directl( position their characters in certain places, for e3a.ple ;inner5cit(
streets, dance5halls, school(ards, airports, countr( roads, doctor's surgeries, 'ac1 seats of
cars, and so on; (Coupland, $0, p* 89!* - third respect of place is 0here the perfor.ance
itself is staged and the fourth 0here it is e3perienced, including the audience as 'eing in a
certain place as 0ell*
Voice can also 'e understood on different le&els* +rith has identified four categories of
&oice, 0hich Coupland ($0! ta1es upB Voice as .usical instru.ent, 'od(, person and
character (p* 8:6!* The first refers to &ocal instru.entalization and the second refers to 'od(
language* The latter t0o categories are especiall( i.portant, as the( ha&e interpretati&e
functions for the audience* The singer can either 'e percei&ed as singing a'out hi.5 or herself
or a'out a certain character, a protagonist in the song* This opens possi'ilities for the
audience to identif( 0ith the perfor.er hi.5 or herself as an indi&idual of a certain heritage,
0hich 0ould possi'l( ena'le a .ore e.otional connection to the singerB F<T=here is a crucial
relational d(na.ic 'et0een a perfor.er and the indi&iduated audience .e.'er, 0ho .a(
align 0ith or e&en feel transcendentl( dra0n into the perfor.er's o0n identit(G (Coupland,
$0, p* 890!*
Perfor.ance is defined '( Coupland through citing 2au.an, 0ho is influential in this
fieldB
<P=erfor.ance rests on an assu.ption of responsi'ilit( to an audience for a displa( of
co..unicati&e &irtuosit(, highlighting the 0a( in 0hich the act of discursi&e
production is acco.plished, a'o&e and 'e(ond the additional .ultiple functions the
co..unicati&e act .a( ser&e* 4n this sense of perfor.ance, then, the act of
%
e3pression itself is fra.ed as displa(B o'Oectified, lifted out to a degree fro. its
conte3tual surroundings, and opened up to interpreti&e and e&aluati&e scrutin( '( an
audience, 'oth in ter.s of its intrinsic Eualities and its associational resonances*
(2au.an, $00%, as cited in Coupland, $0, p* 89$!
Coupland goes on to e3plain that perfor.ance in this sense has the potential to 'oth,
;deconte3tualize;, as suggested in the Euote, 'ut also to ;ente3tualize;* The
deconte3tualization i.plies that popular .usic has the potential to transfor. cultural scenes
and social identities through st(lization* - ;st(lized utterance; according to Coupland ($00:!
is, put shortl(, one that can proOect personas, identities and genres that are 'e(ond the
i..ediate conte3t, al0a(s assu.ing a 1no0ing audience 0hich 0ill recei&e and interpret the
utterance (p* 8%!* That 0a( the perfor.er's identit( can 'e interpreted a'o&e the i..ediate
conte3t*
"nte3tualization, on the other hand, has to do 0ith genre and a certain for. of
interte3tualit(* 2uilding further on 2au.an's findings, Coupland e3plains that a perfor.ance
is in .ost cases a ;re5enact.ent (or reconte3tualization! of so.e earlier &ersions of 'the sa.e'
perfor.ance; (Coupland, $0, p* 89$!* Therefore a perfor.ance usuall( in&o1es a certain
genre, connecting the perfor.ance 0ith others, creating ;interte3tual; connections*
Perfor.ers can then 1eep to genre5specific nor.s or ai. their perfor.ance to inno&ate a0a(
fro. the., creating ;interte3tual gaps; (Coupland, $0, p* 89$!* +or e3a.ple, 0hen a li&e
&ersion &aries considera'l( fro. the recorded &ersion of a song, there is a gap 'et0een
perfor.ances* -dditionall(, 0hen sung perfor.ances are supported '( spo1en perfor.ances,
the artist .a( 'e ;acti&el( see1ing to 'uild ne0 interpreti&e conte3ts around their .aterial;
(Coupland, $0, p* 893!* -ll this acts to 'ring additional infor.ation into the i..ediate
conte3t*
8
@enre itself is a rather open concept and there are no co.pletel( straightfor0ard
genre classifications* @enre can therefore 'e seen rather as an orientation* This entails for one
that audiences ha&e e3pectations of .usic of a certain genre, 'ut also that st(listic features
can ha&e different .eanings according to in 0hich genre the( are used* Male high5pitching
for e3a.ple can ha&e a different social readings according to genre* 4n indie roc1 it is ;li1el(
to connote e.otional &ulnera'ilit(;, 0hile in s0eet soul it ;inde3es a 'lad('s .an' t(pe of
.asculinit(; (Coupland, $0, p* 893589%!*
4n addition to his considerations of &oice, place, genre and perfor.ance, Coupland
offers so.e thoughts on &ernacularit( in popular .usic* Voice, as .entioned 'efore, has the
potential to not onl( tal1 a'out place '( 'eing used in a dialect 'ut in other 0a(s as 0ell*
Therefore, the ter. &ernacular should eEuall( 'e adapted to other for.s of &oice* The
&ernacular e3perience is descri'ed as not onl( a for. e3isting ne3t to the nor., 'ut also as
;e3perience located on 'oundaries 'et0een social e3clusion and inclusion, 'et0een
oppression and freedo., 'et0een the culturall( nor.ati&e and the culturall( progressi&e;
(Coupland, $0, p* 868!* The use of &ernacular dialects is an i.portant identit( resource
here 'ut the afore.entioned concepts of reconte3tualization, genre and interte3tualit( i.pl(
that perfor.ance of popular .usic also has the potential to gi&e a 'ho.e' to .arginalized
cultures '( &oicing pre5.odern &alues as for e3a.ple ;ti.eless rural spaces; (Coupland,
$0, p* 868! in the face of glo'alization and ur'anit(*
".1.+. 'he !roression of British music research in a nutshell. To su. up, Trudgill
'egan the progression of research on 2ritish .usic '( using a .ore traditional dialectal
anal(sis and dra0ing direct conclusions fro. the use of regional dialectal features '( using
LePage's acts of identit( theor(* P* Si.pson too1 these findings and added the i.portance of
topic, conte3t and political and social circu.stances to the anal(sis* ,e follo0s the
7
de&elop.ent of the use of -.erican features into the 660's, 0here a re&i&al of usage can 'e
assu.ed '( the orientation to0ards for.erl( fa.ous 'ands such as the 2eatles* 2eal then
presents a counter argu.ent to the trend to0ards -.ericanness, postulating that in ter.s of a
language5ideological fra.e0or1, not -.ericanness 'ut .ainstrea.5pop is the target of
language .odification* ,e argues for a trend in indie .usic to go against .ainstrea. in an(
aspect to perfor. an authentic regional identit( instead* Coupland, again, see1s to ta1e the
anal(sis of popular .usic further a0a( fro. a centralized &ie0 on dialectal features
according to regional space and open the path to stud(ing .usic in ter.s of other outloo1s on
place, &oice, perfor.ance and genre*
".". Research into Glo)al 3i! 3o!
4n another genre that is .usicall( entirel( different fro. indie and roc1 .usic, na.el(
hip hop, e3tensi&e research has 'een done 0ith respect to identit( perfor.ance* Multiple
studies on hip hop .usic are a&aila'le that do not onl( co&er regional accent 'ut ta1e into
account the effects of glo'alization and the proOection of local identit( on .ultiple le&els* The
ne3t section 0ill deal 0ith so.e of these studies*
4n the field of hip hop .usic, a &ariet( of studies has 'een conducted that lin1 the use
of language 0ith features of identit(* These are not necessaril( situated in an "nglish5
spea1ing setting or e&en ta1e the use of accent into account> ho0e&er, the( still offer
i.portant i.plications on features i.portant in researching popular .usic sociolinguisticall(*
@lo'al hip hop has 'een the centre of Euite so.e scholarl( concern* 4n $00,
Ter1ourafi pu'lished a 'oo1 0ith se&eral contri'utions on sociolinguistic topics a'out hip
hop around the 0orld* These topics include .ultilingualis., ethnicit(, s(.'olic language
use, regional le3icolog( and .inorit( cultures, a.ong others* This sho0s that hip hop
research has gone so.e 0a( to co&er topics .uch .ore in depth than the rather
:
unidirectional stud( of regional accents done '( Trudgill* ,ip hop is a significant genre of
.usic also, 'ecause it, Oust as roc1 .usic, has a long histor( and changed fro. a local
pheno.enon, o&er phases of dance .usic and gangster rap to finall( 'eco.ing a .ainstrea.
cultural pheno.enon* ,ip hop artists often co..ent on social inadeEuacies and pro'le.s in
their region, 0hile 'eing funda.entall( concerned 0ith authenticit( (Ter1ourafi, $00, p* 8!*
-ccording to Ter1ourafi ($00!, hip hop artists achie&e authenticit( on different
le&els* +or one, the( act on a local le&el, 0here .usic as 0ell as language are used as
indicators* -rtists use national languages, different &arieties and code5s0itching, as 0ell as
topicalit( and other instances of localit( in hip hop to esta'lish inde3es of place and to
.aintain an in5group relationship 0ith a local audience (Ter1ourafi, $00, p* 9!* -nother le&el
of authenticit( in hip hop is achie&ed through references to hip hop culture itself, 0here the
origin is said to lie in -frican -.erican ur'an cultures, to 0hich it is i.portant to orient
to0ards '(, for e3a.ple, adopting features of -frican -.erican "nglish* De 0ill see later
that this distinction 'et0een the t0o le&els is not as straightfor0ard as Ter1ourafi .a1es it
see.*
The notion of authenticit( has alread( 'een .entioned a'o&e* -lastair Penn(coo1 is
one of the .ain scholars 0ho has done research in the field of hip hop* ,e often refers to the
authenticit( of hip hop artists around the 0orld and ho0 this authenticit( is connected to 'oth
the use of "nglish as a glo'al language and the percei&ed histor( of the genre of hip hop
itself* -ccording to Penn(coo1 ($00:'!, authenticit( in hip hop underlies a certain tension
'et0een
on the one hand the spread of a cultural dictate to adhere to certain principles of 0hat
it .eans to 'e authentic, and on the other, a process of localization that .a1es such an
e3pression of sta(ing true to oneself dependent on local conte3ts, languages, cultures,
9
and understandings of the real* (p* 03!
4n other 0ords authenticit( or '1eepin' it real' reEuires a fine 'alance 'et0een
negotiating the principles of glo'al hip hop, li1e for e3a.ple the a'o&e .entioned use of
-frican -.erican "nglish and the e3pression of a local culture* ;@lo'al real tal1, 0hich,
0hile easil( glossed as 1eepin/ it real, is 'etter understood as a glo'al ideolog( that is al0a(s
pulled into local 0a(s of 'eing; (Penn(coo1, $00:', p* $!*
The use of "nglish pla(s an i.portant role here* Psing the glo'al language of "nglish
is often too easil( clai.ed to 'e for the 'enefit of an international .ar1et, greater
understanda'ilit( and therefore greater co..ercial success, 0hile local languages are used to
e3press a local identit( and a .ore personal culture* 4n Penn(coo1's &ie0, this distinction is
too si.ple 'ecause the use of "nglish in hip hop is often tainted '( local features, 0hile
aspects of PS hip hop, specificall( gangster rap, are openl( reOected* ;Too Phat .a( 'e using
a glo'al language, 'ut the( are also using a particular register that is local, generational,
cultural, and distincti&e* The( are 'oth participating in and reOecting aspects of the glo'al;
(Penn(coo1, $00:', p* 08!* This 0ould .ean that the fact that an artist is using a language
that is not their 'o0n', does not .ean that the( are aspiring to a certain culture* Cther
instances of place .a( 0ell shape a different picture*
-nother e3a.ple of this .i3 of local and glo'al language features is the rapper Rip
Sl(.e fro. #apanB
4n a sense, then, this use of #apanese and "nglish U #apanese 0hich .a( locate these
rappers as decidedl( local (fro. Tinshichoo! or 0hich .a( signal their sense of
cultural .i3ing, and "nglish that at ti.es e3plicitl( echoes -frican -.erican "nglish
0hile at other ti.es see.s .ore #apanese in its usage U see.s to constantl( pull 'ac1
and forth, to flo0 itself across the 'oundaries of identit(* (Penn(coo1, $003, p* 8$:!
6
4n all, Penn(coo1 clai.s that it is not the language that one is 'orn into that for.s the
identit( of the spea1er 'ut 0hat he or she does 0ith different aspects of different languages
throughout the perfor.ance, thus esta'lishing identit( not according to gi&en features 'ut
through the use of languages and ho0 the( flo0 into each other (Penn(coo1, $003, p* 8$9!*
This again spea1s for the fact that regional and territorial anal(sis of language features is not
sufficient an(.ore in a glo'alized 0orld 'ut rather the Euestion of ho0 different languages
and place instances are used throughout the 0hole perfor.ance, ta1ing into consideration the
'ac1ground of the perfor.er*
4n addition to this, e&en for non5nati&e "nglish spea1ers, "nglish .a( 0ell 'eco.e a
local language* Ae0 &arieties of "nglish are no e3ceptions 'ut a song perfor.ed in "nglish
can also 'e .ade local '( the use of other features such as .elod( or instru.entsB
- local "nglish has e.erged 0hen it 'ears significant and regular differences fro.
other &arieties* Set the discussion here raises other issues> language .a( 'eco.e
local '( dint of 'ac1ground .usic or local the.es* Localization .a( 'e as .uch
a'out a language 'eing in the 0orld in particular 0a(s as a'out changes to that
language* (Penn(coo1, $00:', p* 0!
-s 0ell as the use of "nglish or a local language not 'eing a 'lac1 and 0hite issue,
neither is the often clai.ed fact that hip hop in .ost cases orientates itself to0ards its origins
in -frican -.erican su'cultures in the Pnited States* Cn the contrar(, Penn(coo1 and
Mitchell ($006! gi&e i.portant insights into local histories of hip hop '( co.paring the
spread of glo'al hip hop 0ith the spread of glo'al "nglish* 2oth, the( clai., cannot 'e seen
as unidirectional Oust 'ecause certain si.ilarities are &isi'leB ;The echoes around the 0orld of
ne0 ,ip ,op cultures .a( 'e understood not so .uch as su'&arieties of glo'al ,ip ,op, 'ut
rather as local traditions 'eing pulled to0ard glo'al cultural for.s 0hile those traditions are
$0
si.ultaneousl( rein&ented; (p* 30!*
,ip hop around the 0orld has 'een incorporated in alread( e3isting cultures, re&i&ing
features such as indigenous dance, clothing, &ocal st(les, etc** The origins of hip hop .a( lie
in -frica and 0ere reintroduced in Aorth -.erica 'ut at the sa.e ti.e, -ustralian hip hop
often see1s its roots in -ustralian -'original cultureB ;,ip ,op 'eco.es not .erel( a cultural
for.ation that has spread and 'een locall( ta1en up, nor e&en one that has its origins in -frica
and has returned, 'ut rather one that has al0a(s 'een local; (Penn(coo1 ? Mitchell, $006, p*
38!* This connects 'ac1 to Coupland's ideas a'out popular .usic and &ernacular cultures
a'o&e* Perfor.ances reconte3tualizing these pre5.odern local cultures, not onl( refer to
the. 'ut gi&e the. a ne0 outlet in a glo'alized 0orld*
-nother researcher 0ho did influential research on hip hop culture is -li., 0ho .uch
in accordance 0ith Penn(coo1 loo1s to descri'e hip hop as a genre that pa(s attention to 'oth
the local and the glo'al, or glocalization, a ter. 0hich points to the .ultiple la(ers of identit(
in hip hop co..unitiesB
<-= glo'al st(le co..unit(, such as the @lo'al ,ip ,op Aation, is 'etter thought of
as a net0or1 of o&erlapping and intersecting translocal st(le co..unitites, 0ith
.e.'ers in particular localities ;.a1ing a choice to 'e connected across recognized
'oundaries; (coo1e and La0rence $008!B ! and negotiating their identities and
.e.'erships in the si.ultaneousl( localizing and glo'alizing i.agined 0orld of ,ip
,op* (-li., $006, p* 0:!
-gain the focus of -li.'s 0or1 is the negotiation 'et0een the glo'al hip hop 0orld
and local cultures and &alues, in this case e3pressed '( different st(les* These st(les can 'e
interpreted to e3press .ultiple 'elongings of the .usic in the ;@lo'al ,ip ,op Aation;, as
0ell as in a local setting* Language choice pla(s an i.portant role here 'ut so do topics,
$
rh(.ing st(les and other cultural features* Language cannot 'e seen in isolation 'ut rather in
the conte3t of the o&erall st(le a perfor.er is .a1ing use of and this can at the sa.e ti.e
con&e( .ultiple different identities '( ente3tualizing different cultures the 1no0ing audience
can identif(*
This relates 'ac1 to Coupland's ($00:! description of perfor.ance a'o&e, as 0ell as
his thoughts on conte3tualization and genre* ,ip hop as 0ell as an( other perfor.ance of
popular .usic 0as descri'ed as high perfor.ance instances and these al0a(s lead to a certain
for. of identit( proOectionB
Perfor.ers' proOected identities are constructed and read relati&e to pre&ailing
.eanings for the social categories in&o1ed* 4 thin1 0e can therefore sa( that acts of
identit( in high perfor.ance e&ents encourage a critical dialogue a'out the real &ersus
the proOected content of identit( categories, such as .aleness and fe.aleness,
Delshness or other for.s of localness or ethnicit(, and so on* (p* %6!
4t 0ould 'e possi'le to add 'realness' or glo'al hip hop st(le to this list* Ao .atter
0hether 0e thin1 a'out accent use, code5s0itching, effects of place and &oice inde3es, it
al0a(s see.s to co.e 'ac1 to the fact that e&er(thing has to 'e loo1ed at in the 'igger
picture of the o&erall perfor.ance* P* Si.pson 0as alread( starting to reach this conclusion in
his earlier research on 2ritish .usicB
the nature of the perceptual linguistic .odel aspired to, the nature of the pop and
roc1 'ands 0ho adopt it and the nature of the 'ands' targeted audience* Such a stud(
also needs to ta1e into account those aspects of the 0ider sociopolitical and cultural
conte3t 0hich act as deter.inants on particular singing st(les* (P* Si.pson, 666, p*
37%!
More recent research in popular .usic and perfor.ance in general suggests not to
$$
focus too .uch on regional differences or the use of accent or e&en a certain language 'ut the
identit( the .usician see1s to perfor. relati&e to social and cultural pheno.ena a'o&e the
i..ediate conte3t* ,ip hop research has gone a long 0a( to incorporate these factors and
&er( detailed studies of specific artists and their 'ac1grounds are a&aila'le* +or the case of
2ritish .usic that Trudgill opened in the 690's .ore 0or1 in this direction is needed* 4n the
ne3t chapter, 4 present the .ethodolog( and conceptual foundation used in the present stud(,
0hich ai.s to e3a.ine 2ritish perfor.ers in this 0a(*
$3
+. 'heory and Methods
The pre&ious chapter has gi&en an o&er&ie0 o&er studies in the field of popular .usic
0ith a focus on studies of the -.ericanization of 2ritish dialects, perfor.ance and hip hop*
Studies of hip hop 0ent a lot further to incorporate considerations of local and glo'al culture,
as 0ell as indi&idual ta1es on glocalization and the use of place* 4n this respect, .ore 0or1 is
needed to 'uild on 0hat Trudgill started out 0ith in the 690's, to .o&e a0a( fro. a
centralized stud( of regional &ariation and incorporate 1no0ledge gained fro. studies of hip
hop and ad&ances in sociolinguistics to the stud( of ho0 roc1 and indie 'ands proOect
identities in the face of glo'alization* -ccordingl(, the current stud(, focusing on 2ritish
'ands, e3plores .ultiple data sources and gi&es a .ore 0holeso.e &ie0 of se&eral 'ands'
identit( perfor.ance*
Dith this ai., the stud( 0idens the scope of earlier studies '( Trudgill (69%! and P*
Si.pson (666! '( including sources of data that do not e3clusi&el( deal 0ith phonolog( 'ut,
li1e hip hop studies, also 0ith identit( proOection through l(rics, the i.ager( in .usic &ideos
and state.ents in inter&ie0s* The focus here is on ho0 the 'ands construct their identities '(
.a1ing use of place instances in the different t(pes of data and ho0 the(, through this,
position the.sel&es as 'oth local and glo'al participants in popular culture and shape their
perfor.ance as a 0hole*
The stud( is guided '( t0o .ain and one su'ordinate research Euestion that steer the
anal(sis of the data* The first research Euestion is of a .ore Euantitati&e natureB Dhat
references of place do 'ands .a1e use of in different aspects of perfor.anceV The second
research Euestion, 0hich is t0ofold, 'uilds on the first one and is of a .ore Eualitati&e natureB
,o0 do the different references to place in different aspects of perfor.ance fit together and
ho0 are the( used to shape a 'and's identit( as a 0holeV The su'ordinate research Euestion
$%
adds a chronological perspecti&e to the stud( '( as1ingB )o references to place change o&er
ti.e and ho0 does this influence the 'and's proOected identit(V The ai. is then to co.'ine all
the infor.ation to see 0hether it is possi'le to see an o&erarching pattern for all the 'ands*
Considering the nature of these research Euestions, a discourse anal(tic approach is
ta1en in this stud(* The ne3t section gi&es the theoretical foundation for achie&ing this, '(
introducing theories of discourse anal(sis and identit( construction through discourse and
perfor.ance* -dditionall(, an introduction is gi&en to theories of place as an identit(
constructing feature and the concept of authenticit(*
+.1. 'heoretical Backround
+.1.1. 4iscourse theory. The o&erall approach to this stud( is a discourse anal(tical
one* )iscourse, in 2lo..aert's ($008! 0ords, is ;a general .ode of se.iosis, i*e* .eaningful
s(.'olic 'eha&iour; (p* $!* The .ain idea is to thin1 of it as language5in5action* Language
can 'e used to perfor. acti&ities 'earing high se.iotic potential, '( .eans of e.plo(ing
structural features of it* These se.iotic potentials need to 'e ;seen in connection 0ith social,
cultural and historical patterns and de&elop.ents of use; (2lo..art, $008, p* 3!*
2lo..aert ($00:! additionall( instructs us that in the real. of language &ariation,
traditional discourse anal(sis has .ainl( focused on discourse 'eing in a specific language* -
.ore inclusi&e approach, ho0e&er, also needs to ta1e into account t(pes of sociolinguistic
&ariation on a s.aller scale, including for e3a.ple st(le and register shifts* These sources of
inde3ical .eaning can connect ;discourses to conte3ts and induce categories, si.ilarities and
differences 0ithin fra.es, and thus suggest identities, tones, st(les and genres that appear to
'elong or to de&iate fro. e3pected t(pes; (p* 8! and ulti.atel( language to glo'alization*
This is a &er( i.portant point to .a1e in relation to the present stud(, as the area of .ass5
.edia is increasingl( influenced '( glo'alization and 'ands that act in this .ulticultural
$8
en&iron.ent are su'Oects to glo'al, as 0ell as local forces, 0hich the( ha&e to .ediate
'et0een*
2earing all this in .ind, 2lo..aert ($008, p* %58! identifies fi&e principles of
discourse anal(sis* The first principle has to do 0ith the assu.ption that language users
in&est in language and that it .atters to the.* The Euestion therefore is al0a(s ho0 language
.atters to people* The second principle highlights the i.portance of conte3t in order to see
ho0 language 0or1s differentl( in different en&iron.ents, conditions and for different
purposes* The third of the fi&e principles states that one has to thin1 of language not as a
distinctl( specified entit(, 'ut as the ;act%al an# #ensely context%ali/e# forms in "hich
lan$%a$e occ%rs in society; (p* 8!* This i.plies that the focus needs to 'e on &ariet( in
language as ;such &ariation is at the core of 0hat .a1es language and .eaning social; (p*
8!* The fourth principle focuses on the indi&idual language user, 0ho is constrained in his
language choices '( his or her sociolinguistic 'ac1ground* This 'ac1ground is therefore
i.portant to ta1e into account* The fifth principle puts the other four principles under the
influence of glo'alization '( introducing the need to ta1e into account ;the relationships
'et0een different societies and the effect of these relationships on repertoires of language
users; (p*8!*
4n order to do this 1ind of anal(sis, @ee ($0! pro&ides us 0ith a tool1it that consists
of $: tools that guide discourse anal(sis* Li1e 2lo..aert, @ee also stresses the i.portance
of conte3t 0hen doing discourse anal(sis and urges us to as1 0hat infor.ation needs to 'e
;filled in;, in order to achie&e an understanding of a discourse situation (p* $!* This includes
0ho the listener is and 0hat this listener is e3pected to 1no0, e&en though it is not e3plicitl(
stated* This e3pectation is 0hat @ee calls ;situated .eaning; (p* 83!* Dords can ha&e
general .eanings as 0ell as situated .eanings, that depend entirel( on the conte3ts* 4solating
$7
these situated .eanings can 'e a 0a( to find &er( su'tle inde3esB ;interpretati&e leads
'et0een 0hat is said and the social occasion in 0hich it is 'eing produced; (2lo..aert,
$008, p*!*
The i.portance of conte3t leads us to consider 0hat @ee ($0! calls the ;fra.e
pro'le.;* This .eans that 0e can increasingl( learn .ore that can influence the assu.ption
or h(pothesis a'out a situated .eaning* This 0ill 'eco.e clear in Chapter % as 0e constantl(
add to the 'ig picture '( going through the different la(ers of data* To add to these conte3t
dependent factors, there is also the idea to consider that language not onl( depends on conte3t
'ut also helps create it* @ee ($0! calls this the ;refle3i&e; propert( of language (p* 98!*
Speech creates conte3ts, reproduces alread( e3isting conte3ts (interte3tualit(! and can also
transfor. e3isting conte3ts*
-part fro. the i.portance of conte3t, another helpful tool that @ee ($0! proposes is
;the relationship 'uilding tool; (p* %!, 0hich ad&ises the discourse anal(st to 1eep in .ind
that language has the a'ilit( to 'uild and .aintain relationships 'et0een the spea1er and
other people, groups and institutions* 4t is helpful to consider this as the interaction 'et0een
perfor.er and audience is of particular i.portance to the present stud(*
-dditionall(, discourse al0a(s has a political propert( to it* Politics in ter.s of
language does not necessaril( ha&e to do 0ith go&ern.ent 'ut instead 0ith &alues that are
attached to certain things in a societ( (@ee, $0, p* 9!* Properties that ha&e &alue in one
conte3t, .ight not ha&e the sa.e &alue in a different conte3t* This is i.portant 0hen
perfor.ers negotiate identities in &er( different cultural settings*
-nother tool that @ee ($0! offers is 0hat he calls ;the 'ig ')' discourse tool;* This
tool re.inds the user to go 'e(ond language and also ta1e into account ;0a(s of acting,
interacting, 'elie&ing, &aluing, dressing and using &arious o'Oects, tools and technologies in
$:
certain sorts of en&iron.ents; (p* 9!* -ll of these factors can 'e i.portant in ter.s of
'uilding identit( and it is inherentl( 'ecause of this that this stud( includes .ore than one or
t0o t(pes of data* More data al0a(s adds infor.ation to a gi&en conte3t and can change the
pre&ious assess.ent, thus .ore data gi&es a 'roader picture (@ee, $0, p* 3!*
+.1.". Identity and !lace in discourse. - .aOor ai. of this stud( is to isolate certain
0a(s in 0hich different 'ands present their identit( to audiences* The literature on identit(
for.ation through language is e3tensi&e and it is i.portant to .ention so.e .eaningful
processes here*
The first i.portant assu.ption that has to 'e .ade in order to understand 0hat t(pe of
identit( 0e are loo1ing for here, is to .a1e it clear that people do not inherentl( ha&e an
identit( 'ut that identities ;are constructed in practices that )ro#%ce0 enact0 or )erform
identit( 55 identit( is identification, an outco.e of sociall( conditioned se.iotic 0or1;
(2lo..aert, $008, p* $08!* #ust 'ecause a perfor.er is fro. a certain place, it cannot 'e
assu.ed that the identit( he or she see1s to perfor. is inherentl( lin1ed to that place* 4t is
0ithin discourse that it 0ill 'eco.e clear 0hat 1ind of identit( is 'eing enacting in a certain
.o.ent*
This, of course, i.plies that a spea1er does not onl( ha&e one identit(* @ee ($0!
puts it in &er( practical ter.sB ;De 'uild an identit( here and no0 as 0e spea1* De each act
out different identities in our li&es in different conte3ts; (p* 07!* 4t is the tas1 of the
discourse anal(st to in&estigate 0hat 1inds of identities are perfor.ed through discourse*
These are al0a(s constrained '( factors such as social groups, roles, institutions,
relationships and culture* "ach of these can influence 0hich identit( is appropriate and 0hich
is chosen fro. the ;repertoire; of identit( features that a spea1er has at his or her disposal
(2lo..aert, $008, p* $3$!*
$9
Cne 0a( to act out identit( 0ith language is to use different regional or social
languages* The use of regional language is of particular i.portance here, as phonolog( and
place inde3ing though le3ical usage 0ill pla( a pro.inent role in the anal(sis* 4r&ine and @al
0rite that ;linguistic for.s, including 0hole languages, can inde3 social groups <and= can
'eco.e a pointer to (inde3 of! the social identities and the t(pical acti&ities of spea1ers; (as
cited in Cutler, $00, p* $$7!* Spea1ing a certain dialect and using certain le3ical features,
inde3es social group .eanings* 4n ti.es of glo'alization, it cannot 'e assu.ed an(.ore that
0here one co.es fro. auto.aticall( i.plies an identit(> using a local dialect consciousl(
can therefore help esta'lish this local identit(B
Dor1 on Wst(le/ <***= has sho0ed ho0 social identities can 'e e&o1ed or created
through the use of particular linguistic for.s and has suggested that, at least for so.e
people and in so.e 0a(s, regional for.s could ser&e such purposes* (#ohnstone,
$00, p* 396!
Part of this stud( deals 0ith this fact* There is the potential to consciousl( use a local
dialect that one 'o0ns' in order to esta'lish identit( 'ut there is also the potential to .odif( a
dialect '( .a1ing use of 0hat Coupland ($00! calls ;dialect st(lization; 0hich ;is 'est
understood in these ter.sB as a .eans of deplo(ing nor.ati&e co..unit( speech for.s at
one re.o&e, 0ithout o&ertl( su'scri'ing to the nor.s of tradition and cultural continuit(, 'ut
also 0ithout discrediting their cultural &alue; (p* 3:$!*
4n this sense, it is i.portant to state that dialect has to 'e seen as a part of perfor.ance
and not inherent 'eha&ior and also as social practice instead of &ariation (Coupland, $00, p*
3%9!* 4n this 0a(, using dialect can 'e 'oth authenticating and deauthenticating and its
conscious use in perfor.ance can gi&e i.portant clues a'out e.'racing or reOecting a certain
identit(*
$6
2efore 0e turn to the present stud(, so.e re.ar1s should also 'e .ade a'out the
theor( 'ehind the notion of place* - large part of the stud( focuses on ho0 instances of place
are used to shape identities that adhere to certain places* Place can 'e seen as ;a culturall(
defined categor(, and indeed as a social .eaning a.ena'le to 'eing st(led; (Coupland, $00:,
p* $!* 4n this sense, the use of place inde3es is a conscious process of st(ling and .a1ing
use of .eaningful features and local dialect can 'e one of these inde3es*
+or the .o.ent, 0e can suffice '( sa(ing that the attri'uti&e Eualities of spaces,
proOected onto speech &arieties, allo0 for an enor.ous se.iotic potential through
0hich people can articulate far .ore different identities, su'Oecti&ities, and spea1er
positions than pre&iousl( assu.ed* (2lo..aert, $008, p* $$3!
This esta'lishes that place is a highl( i.portant feature of identit( proOection, 0hich
grants it the i.portant role that it has 'een gi&en in the present stud(, 'oth in ter.s of dialect
and le3ical usage, 'ut also in ter.s of i.ager( and inde3ing of &er( specific places in the real
0orld* - stud( of place and identit( e3pression of this sort calls for a .ethodolog( that
includes se&eral sources of data 0hich can shed light on the underl(ing processes* The ne3t
section introduces the .ethodolog( used for anal(zing and interpreting these data sources*
+.". Methodoloy
This section 'egins 0ith a short description of the 'ands that 0ere chosen for this
stud( and then descri'es the 1ind of data that 0ere collected for the. and ho0* 4 then e3plain
ho0 the data 0ere anal(zed*
+.".1. 'he )ands. +i&e 'ands 0ere selected for the first phase of the anal(sis* The
data consist of all released al'u.s of the fi&e 'ands 2iff( Cl(ro, -rctic Mon1e(s, Ma3i.o
Par1, Taiser Chiefs and Sno0 Patrol* These 'ands 0ere chosen, for one, 'ecause of their
2ritish heritage, 0here none of the. co.e fro. e3actl( the sa.e place to ensure so.e
30
&ariation in heritage culture and dialect* Cne 'and is fro. Scotland, three fro. "ngland
(Sheffield, Ae0castle and Leeds! and one 0ith .e.'ers fro. 'oth Aorthern 4reland and
Scotland* The 'ands all co.e fro. the genres of either roc1 or indie .usic and ha&e released
a su'stantial a.ount of .usic, pro&iding a large a.ount of data to choose fro.* +or this
stud( it 0as also i.portant that all the 'ands ha&e reached a certain le&el of recognition to
ensure that inter&ie0 .aterial 0ould 'e readil( a&aila'le and for reasons of co.para'ilit(* 4
0ill no0 gi&e a short introduction to each of the fi&e 'ands*
3.2.1.1. Biffy Clyro. -ll three .e.'ers of 2iff( Cl(ro originate fro. -(rshire in
Scotland and ha&e 'een .a1ing .usic together since the .id 660's* The( released their first
al'u. in $00$ on an independent la'el and ha&e since released another fi&e al'u.s, three of
0hich on a .aOor la'el, and t0o li&e al'u.s* Since their fourth al'u. P%//le0 0hich 0ent up
to nu.'er $ of the charts in 2ritain (Lle0ell(n S.ith, $03!, 2iff( Cl(ro ha&e achie&ed a
higher le&el of recognition, especiall( in @reat 2ritain 'ut also in other parts of "urope and
increasingl( in the Pnited States* 4t is in the PS that the 'and has recorded their last three
al'u.s*
3.2.1.2. Arctic Monkeys. The -rctic Mon1e(s are a four piece 'and fro. Sheffield in
the north of "ngland* The( started out as a 'and in $008 and released their first al'u. in
$007* 1o #ate 2hatever Peo)le !ay ' am0 1hat3s 2hat '3m .ot still hold the record of the
fastest5selling de'ut al'u. in 2ritish histor( ()a(, $03!* The 'and has released fi&e al'u.s
through spring $0%, the ne0est of the. 'eing AM in $03* The( enOo( international success
and ha&e .o&ed their 'ase to L-, 0here the( record their al'u.s and also li&e* The al'u.
AM is their greatest success o&erseas to date (,olpuch, $0%! and it see.s the( are no0 an
international contender*
3.2.1.3. Maximo Park. The 'and Ma3i.o Par1 consists of fi&e .e.'ers fro.
3
different cities fro. the north of "ngland 'ut all of the .e.'ers ha&e li&ed in Ae0castle
upon T(ne for o&er a decade* The( ha&e e3isted in their current configuration since $000,
0hen front.an Paul S.ith Ooined the 'and* Since then, the( ha&e released fi&e al'u.s, the
ne0est 'eing 1oo M%ch 'nformation released in earl( $0%* Their first t0o al'u.s ha&e gold
status in the PT

* The 'and no0 also tours outside of "urope in -sia and the Pnited States*
,o0e&er, in contrast to the other anal(zed 'ands, the( still record in @reat 2ritain and ha&e
their o0n studio in Ae0castle, 0here the( reside*
3.2.1.4. Kaiser Chiefs. The Taiser Chiefs are a fi&e piece 'and fro. the "nglish cit(
of Leeds and 0ere for.ed in $000* The( ha&e achie&ed fa.e through songs such as 4h My
5o# and 6very#ay ' Love 7o% Less An# Less. The( ha&e 'een one of 2ritain's .ore
successful 'ands of the last decade, ha&ing sold records 0ith platinu. status
$
and 0inning
three 2rit -0ards* The( ha&e as of spring $0% released fi&e al'u.s, and after the departure
of their .ain song0riter in $0$, the 'and released their first al'u. 0ritten '( re.aining
.e.'ers in $0%*
3.2.1.. !no" Patrol. The 'and Sno0 Patrol 0as founded in 66% in )undee,
Scotland, ho0e&er singer @ar( Light'od( ste.s fro. Aorthern 4reland* The( ha&e released
se&en al'u.s and 0ere signed to a .aOor record la'el as earl( as $00$* The 'and has enOo(ed
0ider international success for .an( (ears* "speciall( successful 0as their $007 al'u. 6yes
4)en 0ith the hit single Chasin$ Cars* The al'u. reached nu.'er in the PT and
ulti.atel( sold o&er 7 .illion ti.es*
+.".". 4ata collection. )ata a'out these fi&e 'ands 0ere collected fro. four t(pes of
data sources* The first t0o t(pes 'oth dra0 fro. a sa.ple of all the 'ands' recorded al'u.s*
- total nu.'er of at 00,000 sold copies (The 2ritish Recorded Music 4ndustr( (n*d*! Certifie# A"ar#s 8
Certification Levels. Retrie&ed fro. httpBHH000*'pi*co*u1Hcertification5le&els*asp3!
$ - total nu.'er of at 300,000 sold copies (The 2ritish Recorded Music 4ndustr( (n*d*! Certifie# A"ar#s 8
Certification Levels. Retrie&ed fro. httpBHH000*'pi*co*u1Hcertification5le&els*asp3!
3$
Cf these, the l(rics 0ere anal(zed as 0ell as the recordings e3a.ined phonologicall(* The
source data a.ounts to $7 al'u.s, 0ith a'out $ songs per al'u.* The third t(pe of data 0as
dra0n fro. the .usic &ideos of three of the fi&e 'ands and the fourth fro. inter&ie0 articles
gathered online*
3.2.2.1. Lyrical #ata. The first t(pe of data consists of parts of the l(rics of all the
songs on all the al'u.s the 'ands ha&e pu'lished until the ti.e of data collection in #anuar(
$0%* The l(rics 0ere listened to, or 0here possi'le read on the official ho.epages of the
different 'ands 0hile listening, in order to find instances of place according to different
categories, 0hich are descri'ed 'elo0* 4nstances of place 0ere considered 'ecause of the
i.portance of place for identit( construction addressed earlier* L(rics are also especiall(
i.portant 'ecause of their high st(lizationB
<S=ong l(rics .a( originate in spontaneous i.pro&isation, 'ut the( su'seEuentl( go
through se&eral stages of editing, in 0hich artists use literac( to opti.ize the rh(.e
and other properties of their l(rics and to tailor the. to rh(th.ic constraints, there'(
ta1ing into account genre con&entions and audience e3pectations* (-ndroutsopoulos,
$00, p* $0!
To collect these place instances, a .ethod 0as used that is si.ilar to that e.plo(ed
'( Cra.er and ,allett ($00! to anal(ze regional identit( .ar1ers in -.erican hip hop*
Cra.er and ,allett collected the l(rics of a nu.'er of artists and anal(zed the. according to
place instances di&ided into se&en categoriesB CitiesHstates, e3plicit regional reference,
specific local reference, other regional references, sportsHschool, foods and people ($00, p*
$7%!* +or the current stud(, the categories 0ere adapted and shaped to fit the data and
conseEuentl( fi&e categories 0ere identifiedB place, person, concept, .o&ieHliterature and
le3ical choices* -ll fi&e categories 0ere, on a higher le&el, di&ided '( either 'eing of a local,
33
national or international scope* This is a difference to Cra.er and ,allett's ($00! stud(
'ecause the( loo1ed e3clusi&el( for local references* 4 a. also interested in place instances
that indicate not onl( the specific region 0here the 'and co.es fro. 'ut also the 0ider
region of @reat 2ritain and international references outside of @reat 2ritain*
The categor( 'place', in .( definition, refers to e3plicit references to specific cities,
countries, streets, etc* 'ut also to .ore a'stract places such as 'ho.e to0n', foreign tra&el or
ur'an settings* 'Person' refers to specific people .entioned 'ut also indirectl( referenced '(
co&ering certain other artists, 0here a person is interte3tuall( i.plied* 'Concepts' in&ol&e
such references .ade to specific .agazines, transportation co.panies, food ite.s or
currencies* 'Mo&ieHliterature' refers not to authors 'ut to specific .o&ies, 'oo1s or characters
in an( .edia* Lastl(, 'le3ical choices' is an additional categor( including slang, change of
language, idio.s or regional &ariants of "nglish 0ords*
The references 0ere collected in ta'les indicating the scope and categor(, as 0ell as
na.e of the song, the e3act 0ording of the reference and the ti.e sta.p in the song, resulting
in one ta'le per al'u. for each 'and* +or the first phase of the stud(, the references 0ere
counted according to categor( and scope and the nu.'ers 0ere gathered (see Ta'le %** in
Chapter %!*
3.2.2.2. Phonolo$ical #ata. The phonological data collection .ethod 'uilds on
.ethods of earlier research in the area of 2ritish .usic, na.el( that of Trudgill (69%! and P*
Si.pson (666!* The accents of the 'ands 0ere anal(zed contrasting -.erican and 2ritish
&ariants of different &aria'les* These &aria'les are the PS-58 identified '( P* Si.pson (666!
in adaptation fro. Trudgill (69%!, 0hich 4 introduced in Chapter $* The 2ritish &aria'les
listened for, 0ere, 0here necessar(, adapted to the regional origin of the specific 'ands* This
0as done for the three 'ands that 0ere chosen for closer anal(sis after the first phase of the
3%
stud(, na.el( 2iff( Cl(ro, the -rctic Mon1e(s and Ma3i.o Par1* The &aria'les are listed
'elo0, in a si.ilar fashion as C',anlon ($00:! has done in her accent anal(sis of -ustralian
hip hop artists (p* 67!, for 'oth for the "nglish and the Scottish &aria'les* The -.erican
&ariants are ta1en fro. Trudgill (69%! 0here possi'le* Cther0ise the &ariants are ta1en fro.
Melchers and Sha0 ($003!* The &aria'les in Ta'le 3** are used for 'oth the -rctic Mon1e(s
and Ma3i.o Par1 as 'oth 'ands co.e fro. the north of "ngland*
+or 2iff( Cl(ro (Ta'le 3*$*! the third &aria'le 0as ta1en out, Scottish "nglish 'eing a
rhotic &ariet(* -dditionall( three other features 0ere added, as the .aOor identif(ing feature
of Scot" is its &o0el s(ste.* "speciall( noticea'le here is the .onophthongization of certain
diphthongs* These 0ere added according to Melchers and Sha0 ($003, p* 78 5 7:!*
The data co&ers 3$ songs as a 0hole, t0o songs per al'u., per 'and* The 3$ songs
0ere chosen at rando. fro. all those songs on the 7 a&aila'le al'u.s that ha&e 'een
released as singles 0ith .usic &ideos* This approach co&ers the 0hole of the pu'lished .usic
of the 'ands, 0hich is i.portant for the chronological aspect of the third research Euestion
a'o&e* The reason for using specificall( songs that 0ere released in this for. is that the(
usuall( are su'Oect to greater circulation due to their appearance on radio and TV* Therefore,
it could 'e argued that these songs are chosen '( the 'ands to gain a greater audience and for
'eing particularl( good or i.portant*
To collect the data, the l(rics of the selected songs 0ere searched for 0ords that
contain a specific &ariant fro. Ta'le 3** and 3*$* Then, the songs 0ere listened to and the
0ords .ar1ed according to 0hich &ariant 0as used* The total nu.'er of instances for each
&ariant per &ariet( is counted for each al'u. and noted in ta'les, 0hich 0ill 'e presented in
Chapter %* C'&iousl(, this .ethod is prone to a certain le&el of interpretation, as
technological phonetic anal(sis is not possi'le due to the 'ac1ground .usic in recordings,
38
0hich is 0h( this .anual for. of anal(sis 0as chosen*
'a)le +.1. Phonological Varia'les in Aorthern "nglish "nglish and -.erican "nglish
2aria)le 2ariants
<t= as in 'etter, 0rite HtH or HXH Ao"ng"ng
HdH -."
<a= as in 'ath HaH Ao"ng"ng
HYH -."
<r= as in girl HZH Ao"ng"ng
HrH -."
<i= as in life HaQH Ao"ng"ng 'ut Shef right [ HeQH
HaKH -."
<o= as in 'od( HNH Ao"ng"ng
HMH -."
<o= as in lo&e H\H Ao"ng"ng
HMH -."
'a)le +.". Phonological Varia'les in Scottish "nglish and -.erican "nglish
2aria)le 2ariants
<t= as in 'etter HtH or HXH Scot"
HdH -."
<a= as in 'ath HaH or HMH Scot"
HYH -."
<i= as in life HaeH or H]iH Scot"
HaKH -."
<o= as in 'od( H^H 5 HMH Scot"
HMH -."
<a= as in face HeH Scot"
HeQH -."
<oa= as in goat HoH Scot"
Ho\H -."
<ou= as in .outh H]uH Scot"
Ha\H -."
3.2.2.3. M%sic vi#eo #ata. Music &ideos are included in the data in order to add an
additional la(er to the scope that includes not onl( linguistic 'ut also i.age .aterial* This
37
coincides 0ith 0hat @ee ($0! states a'out the i.portance of )iscourse 0ith a capital ')' (p*
::!, 0here the anal(sis should go 'e(ond language and include other for.s of
co..unication as 0ell* This .a( 0ell include i.ager(*
To gather data fro. the .usic &ideos, 4 e.plo(ed a .ethod of closel( 0atching all the
&ideos for the three further anal(zed 'ands that are a&aila'le on their 0e'sites* This
a.ounted to a total of 77 .usic &ideos* -s 0ith the l(rical anal(sis, the &ideos 0ere scanned
for instances of place of the sa.e categories 0ith the e3ception of slang usage* "3a.ples of
place inde3es in .usic &ideos are flags, logos, te3tual clues, stereot(pes and also .ore su'tle
hints, such as on 0hich side the steering 0heel of a car is &isi'le* These instances 0ere
gathered in lists, according to 0hether the( are local, national or international*
3.2.2.4. 'ntervie" #ata. The inter&ie0 data 0as added first and fore.ost in order to
add a la(er of infor.ation to the data that is self5refle3i&e of the 'and* This is i.portant
'ecause the interaction 0ith cultures is a highl( self5refle3i&e process (Coupland, $00!*
The data fro. inter&ie0s 0ere dra0n fro. a total of t0el&e pu'lications* "le&en of
these 0ere ta1en fro. the .usic section of the online archi&e of The @uardian PT, the
t0elfth fro. the online &ersion of The )ail( Mail PT* T0o of the articles for Ma3i.o Par1
are different fro. the rest 'ecause the( are not actuall( articles 'ut 'log entries 0ritten '(
singer Paul S.ith hi.self* The other articles are 0ritten after inter&ie0s 0ith the different
'ands and include 'oth direct state.ents of the 'ands and .eta5co..entar( of the
Oournalists* This set of te3ts 0as chosen after scanning different 2ritish online .agazines that
had pu'lished inter&ie0 articles on all 'ands to find a co..on source* The @uardian PT had
the highest nu.'er of these, 0hich is 0h( .ost of the articles are ta1en fro. there* The
online archi&e of The @uardian also .ade it possi'le to find articles that co&er a 0ide
ti.espan* The( 0ere released o&er roughl( the last ten (ears, .a1ing it possi'le to see
3:
attitude changes, if there 0ere an(*
To gather i.portant data fro. these articles, the( 0ere color coded according to
different categories of state.entsB LocalHnational reference in .eta5co..entar(>
international reference in .eta5co..entar(> localHnational reference in 'and state.ent>
international reference in 'and state.ent and l(rics reference in 'and state.ent* This .ethod
can 'e ter.ed as 0hat Salda_a ($03! calls ;descripti&e coding; (p* 99!* This refers to coding
according to ;topic of a passage of Eualitati&e data; (p*99!* The categories stated a'o&e ser&e
as topics here and each 0as highlighted 0ith a different color to ensure an ;eas( 'at a glance'
.anual reference; (p* 79!* The reference passages coded do not onl( include the .entioning
of specific places, 'ut also co..entar( on the.* State.ents '( the 'and relating to personal
histor( 0ere .ar1ed as local references* L(rics references are those 0here the 'and descri'es
influences for song 0riting*
The .eta5co..entar( state.ents 0ere gathered and counted, the 'and state.ents
0ere collected and anal(zed* The place references in the .eta5co..entar( 0ere gathered
'ecause identit( 0or1 is often not done '( a spea1er hi.5 or herself 'ut '( others
(2lo..aert, $008, p* $08!* The 0a( in 0hich the Oournalists present the 'and is an i.portant
indicator of ho0 the 'and is percei&ed '( others that ha&e the possi'ilit( to assign identities
to the. '( 0a(s of .ass5.edia*
+.".+. 4ata analysis. -fter the data 0ere collected the( 0ere discursi&el( anal(zed in
order to see 0hich identities are used '( the 'ands in different conte3ts*
3.2.3.1. Analysis of )lace in lyrics. The count of place references in l(rics 0as used in
order to .a1e a first assess.ent of 0hich place inde3es 0ere used '( the fi&e 'ands* +ro.
this conclusions 0ere dra0n as to ho0 the 'and presu.a'l( tries to present itself according
to place on the 0hole and the( 0ere grouped according to this tendenc(* Three tendencies
39
0ere isolated* Cne 'and 0as oriented the .ost locall( according to the count, t0o 'ands .ost
nationall( and t0o .ost internationall(* 4nternational orientation, ho0e&er, 0as not indicated
'( a large nu.'er of international references, 'ut '( the a'sence of place references, 1eeping
the content open to all audiences* Cf each tendenc( one 'and 0as chosen for further anal(sis*
+or those three 'ands, the place references are e3a.ined in .ore detail, e3a.ples are
highlighted and anal(zed in relation to the other data sources, as 0ell as the 'ands' heritage
and their relation to glo'al culture* Specificall(, l(rics are e3a.ined 0ith respect to 0h(
certain choices are .ade instead of other possi'le choices (@ee, $0, p* 8$588! and 0hat
situated .eanings certain audiences can deter.ine fro. certain choices (p* 83!* 2ecause of
the highl( intentional content of l(rics, it is possi'le to anal(ze 0hat t(pe of relationship the
artist is tr(ing to 'uild and sustain 0ith 0hat 1ind of audience (@ee, $0, p* 3! and '( that
0hat 1ind of identit( the( are tr(ing to 'uild for that audience*
3.2.3.2. Analysis of the )honolo$ical #ata. The phonological data 0as anal(zed
according to 0hether a .ore local or .ore -.erican accent is used '( the different 'ands*
Dhich &ariants are affected '( st(lization, if an( at all, and 0hether this .odification of
accent is regular or irregular 0as considered* 4nferences 0ere dra0n as to 0hat this .eans in
ter.s of identit( and authenticit( on a glo'al .usic .ar1et*
4n addition to the general anal(sis of 0hat 1inds of .odifications are .ade to the local
&ariet( or not, 0hether the accent sta(s sta'le o&er the course of ti.e '( presenting the
&ariant for all the different al'u.s 0as also ta1en into account* This gi&es us the opportunit(
to see 0hether an identit( that is affiliated 0ith accent changes o&er ti.e*
3.2.3.3. Analysis of m%sic vi#eo #ata. -ccording to @ee ($0!, &isual i.ages can 'e
anal(zed .uch in the sa.e 0a( as con&ersations and te3ts can* -ll ele.ents of an i.age can
'e read in ter.s of their situated .eanings, i*e* 0hat the i.age .eans in conte3t of the &ideo
36
as a 0hole and in ter.s of the 'ac1ground of the 'and* ;@o on fro. situated .eanings to as1
(ourself ho0 the ele.ents (ou ha&e found fit together 5 for. a pattern 5 that creates a certain
sort of st(le for the 0hole i.age* This is the eEui&alent of a 'social language'; (@ee, $0, p*
99!* The ai. of the &ideo anal(sis 0as therefore to identif( the social language i.plied in
the i.ages and 0hether this language is of a .ore local or a .ore international nature or
0hether it .i3es features* @ee ($0! argues that .i3ing of features is &er( co..on
especiall( in .odern .edia (p* 96!* -dditionall(, te3t can 'e .i3ed into the i.age,
co..unicating facts that 0ould not ha&e 'een as o'&ious 0ithout certain te3tual clues* These
0ere also anal(zed 0ith respect to place*
3.2.3.4. Analysis of intervie" #ata. The 0a( that a person acts and perfor.s in the e(e
of the pu'lic shapes their percei&ed identities (2lo..aert, $008!* Dhen doing inter&ie0s,
these people ha&e the chance to influence these perceptions directl( '( carefull( choosing
their 0ords and '( the 0a( the( act around a Oournalist* ,o0 the Oournalist percei&es the
'and is ho0 he or she 0ill ;group;, that is, sociall( categorize the. (2lo..aert, $008, p*
$08!* Therefore, the nu.'er of place references .ade '( the Oournalist in the .eta5
co..entar( 0ere ta1en as an inde3 of ho0 the 'and presents itself* -dditionall(, the
state.ents of the 'ands the.sel&es 0ere anal(zed according to the categories stated a'o&e*
Dhat the( ha&e to sa( on topics such as ho.e, .usic, foreign countries and other possi'l(
rele&ant details can help shape the identit( the 'and tries to perfor.*
C'&iousl(, it is i.portant to 1eep in .ind that especiall( in articles 0ritten after an
inter&ie0, the Oournalist chooses 0hich ans0ers to print and 0hat focus to gi&e the article*
The article itself usuall( has a certain topic, 0hich influences 0hich state.ents of the 'and
end up in the article* 4f an article is a'out a 'and's success internationall(, international
references can naturall( 'e .ore freEuent*
%0
-ll the data collected and anal(zed 0as su..arized for each 'and to gi&e an
o&er&ie0 o&er ho0 the 'ands present the.sel&es 0ith their l(rics, their &ideos, their accents
and in inter&ie0s all together* "ach t(pe of data added a ne0 la(er of infor.ation, presenting
us 0ith @ee's ($0! fra.e pro'le., 0here assu.ptions .ade 'efore ha&e to 'e ree&aluated
in ter.s of the ne0 data, resulting in an o&erall conclusion* The follo0ing chapter presents
the findings and their anal(sis, starting 0ith su..arizing the place findings in the first phase
of the data and then going through all the different data sources for each 'and*
%
#. Analysis and &indins
The follo0ing anal(sis section consists of a detailed presentation of the different 1inds
of data gathered o&er the course of the stud(* 4n each su'section, the different 1inds of data
are related to processes of discourse anal(sis and e&aluated especiall( in ter.s of the
concepts of st(le, authenticit( and glocalization discussed earlier*
The chapter 'egins 0ith a general o&er&ie0 o&er instances of place found in the l(rics
of fi&e 'ands* 2ased on the l(rical anal(sis, three 'ands 0ere selected for deep anal(sis* The
anal(sis of each focal 'and 0ill then follo0 in .ore detail, descri'ing data fro. l(rical,
phonological, .usic &ideo and inter&ie0 anal(sis, follo0ed '( a general discussion for each
'and*
#.1. Summary of Place Instances in the $yrics
The first phase of the stud( 0as to anal(ze the l(rics of all al'u.s of all fi&e 'ands '(
listening and 0here possi'le reading the l(rics on the official 'and 0e'site* The l(rics 0ere
anal(zed according to instances of place* Place is a se.ioticall( rich categor(, 0hich is often
clai.ed to 'e an i.portant feature in identit( construction (2lo..aert, $008> Coupland,
$00:!* Specificall( in .usic, 0hich is a part of glo'al popular culture, instances of place can
'e used to 'alance out the tension 'et0een a glo'al pheno.enon and the dependance on local
features to achie&e authenticit( (Penn(coo1, $00:'!* Localization, 0hich -ndroutsopoulos
($00a! defines as ;a discourse process '( 0hich glo'all( a&aila'le .edia content is
.odified in a (.ore or less salient! local .anner, in&ol&ing so.e linguistic transfor.ation to
a local code and an orientation to a specific audience, '( .eans of language choice; (p* $08!*
Loo1ing for place instances in l(rics is loo1ing for rather salient language choices .ade to
.odif( a glo'al pheno.enon such as popular .usic to fit local culture*
The place instances considered here 0ere categorized according to 0hether the
%$
reference 0as local, national or international* Local .eans the( 0ere tied to the concrete
space 0here the 'and originates fro.* +or e3a.ple for the -rctic Mon1e(s this 0ould .ean a
le3ical reference to Sheffield and surroundings* 2( national is .eant a reference, 0hich
inde3es a place tied to the larger state of origin* +or all our 'ands, this .eans "ngland,
Scotland or e&en larger the Pnited Tingdo.* -n international reference is a reference to an(
place outside of these categories* Dithin those three categories, it 0as esta'lished 0hether the
reference 0as to a place, person, concept (such as a train co.pan(, currenc( etc*!, .o&ie H
literature or 0hether the reference 0as a le3ical ite. e*g* slang* References to specific songs
are counted as references to person according to the perfor.er of the song referred to* )irect
references to foreign tra&el 0ere counted as international places*
Starting 0ith a presentation of this place data as a 0hole is useful 'ecause the
presence or a'sence of such regional identit( .ar1ers can &er( directl( inde3 regional
affiliation* This indicates in ho0 far an artist identifies 0ith regional heritage and social
groupsB ;Local and regional affiliation esta'lishes groups> cogniti&e co.petence in t(pes of
representation constitutes .e.'ership* Le3ical ite.s, s(nta3 and phonolog( can contri'ute to
the inde3ing of local st(listic &ariants; (Cra.er ? ,allet, $00, p* $89!* 4n this first phase of
the stud(, 0e loo1 at such le3ical ite.s to .a1e an initial assu.ption as to ho0 locall(
oriented the different 'ands are and 0hether it is possi'le to group se&eral 'ands together this
0a(* 4n the ne3t step, .ore detailed case studies of three of the 'ands sho0 0hether the initial
assu.ption holds across the other t(pes of data collected*
The results are presented in Ta'le %** 'elo0 according to 'and, categor( and su'5
categor(* This preli.inar( count includes all references, also those to personal histor( (i*e*
fa.il( .e.'ers counted as local people! and .ade5up 0ords or places
3
* Significant instances
3 4n their function as in&entions of the artists the.sel&es, these fe0 instances can 'e counted as originating fro.
their local surroundings*
%3
are referred to in detail in the closer anal(sis 'elo0*
'a)le #.1. 4nstances of Place Reference in L(rics
2and Scale Place Person Concept Mo&ieHLit Le3ical Total
2iff( Cl(ro Local $ 5 5 $ 8
Aational 5 5 3
4nternational % $ 5 9
Total 7
Sno0 Patrol Local $ 5 5 5 5 $
Aational 5 5 5 $
4nternational 8 3 5 5 6
Total 3
-rctic
Mon1e(s
Local % $ 5 5 % 0
Aational % 3 7 % 8 3$
4nternational 3 3 3 $ 5
Total 83
Ma3i.o
Par1
Local 0 5 5 5
Aational 6 % % $ 30
4nternational 8 3 3 $ $%
Total 78
Taiser
Chiefs
Local % 5 5 5 8
Aational 0 5 0 : $9
4nternational : 8 5 5 3
Total %7
-s Ta'le %** illustrates, the o&erall nu.'er of references is not &er( high* There are
so.e significant inde3es here though that can 'e used to shape further anal(sis* Aeither 2iff(
Cl(ro nor Sno0 Patrol .a1e .an( references to place at all* 4n 2iff( Cl(ro's case, the local
references to places and persons are also in so.e instances of a personal, not directl( local,
nature* This .eans, 2iff( Cl(ro refer to friends or fa.il( .e.'ers or self5na.ed places
anchored in personal histor(* Therefore, the the.es of the songs do not usuall( include a
specificall( defined place, 0hich 0ould .ore readil( cause an in5group feeling for a
%%
ho.ogenous audience '( signif(ing shared culture and 1no0ledge (Dillia.s, $00!*
2iff( Cl(ro and Sno0 Patrol, 0ith their o&erall lo0 nu.'ers of place references in all
categories, can therefore 'e grouped together* Their lac1 of inde3es to0ards an( regional
categor( indicates that the( l(ricall( ai. at a heterogenous audience, in 0hich no particular
group is fa&ored or disfa&ored* This in&ites the assu.ption that 'oth 'ands are glo'all(
oriented, 0hen it co.es to their intended audience and that their 0ish to identif( 0ith the
0ider 0hole of popular culture is stronger than the need to e3press a local identit(* Cf these
t0o, 2iff( Cl(ro 0as chosen for further anal(sis, to deter.ine 0hether this assu.ption holds
in the face of the fra.e pro'le., 0here additional data can ser&e to e&aluate the initial
h(pothesis (@ee, $0!*
+or the rest of the 'ands, 0here a significantl( higher nu.'er of place reference has
'een found, the follo0ing can 'e saidB The nu.'er of local references for the -rctic Mon1e(s
and Ma3i.o Par1 are al.ost eEual, 0hile the Taiser Chiefs .a1e use of a lo0er nu.'er* The
-rctic Mon1e(s use the .ost specific local references '( actuall( na.ing, for e3a.ple,
su'ur's of Sheffield, their ho.eto0n, as in the lineB
4 said ;4t's ,igh @reen Mate, &ia ,ills'orough please`;
-s 0ell as this, the( are the onl( 'and that uses distincti&el( local slang, li1e the e3pression
'Mard( 2u.', 0hich refers to a person that co.plains e3cessi&el(* The local references
Ma3i.o Par1 uses are .ore generic, such as '.( to0n' and 'ho.eto0n'.
Dith respect to national references, the nu.'ers of all three 'ands are si.ilar* The
-rctic Mon1e(s .a1e the .ost references and the Taiser Chiefs the least* The -rctic
Mon1e(s stand out 'ecause al.ost half of their national references are .ade through the use
of slang and 2ritish &ariants of 0ords, such as ''otto.s' for pants and 'copper' for police.an*
+or 'oth the Taiser Chiefs and Ma3i.o Par1 the references are .ore often to specific places
%8
such as 'London' or '"ngland'*
Dhen it co.es to international references, the -rctic Mon1e(s ha&e the o&erall lo0est
nu.'er, again setting the. apart so.e0hat* Dhile Ma3i.o Par1 ha&e a significantl( higher
nu.'er here, their references are often .ade so that not the protagonist of a song hi.self is
placed internationall(, 'ut is instead left 'ehind* This indicates a tension 'et0een local and
international tendencies in the references, grounding the protagonist to his place of origin* -n
e3a.ple for this isB
Li.assol, hold on 4 couldn't trap (ou
,a&ing said this, the follo0ing anal(sis 0ill include the -rctic Mon1e(s, as the
nu.'ers a'o&e set the. so.e0hat apart fro. the other t0o 'ands* The( are the onl( 'and
that uses distincti&el( local slang and .a1es the greatest use of references to &er( specific
local places, connected directl( to their ho.eto0n* 4t could therefore 'e argued that this 'and
has the highest inclination to identif( 0ith a distincti&el( local audience*
The local references of the other t0o 'ands are .ore general and spread o&er .ost
categories* Dhile Ma3i.o Par1, as stated a'o&e, ha&e a higher nu.'er of international
references, the national references of 'oth 'ands are of al.ost eEual nu.'er and on the
0hole, rather si.ilar* The ''eing left 'ehind' notion that Ma3i.o Par1 often use, additionall(
adds to the 'and's ;spea1ing fro.; (2lo..aert, $008, p* $$3! a national rather than
international place* 2ecause the nu.'er of national references for 'oth 'ands are so high and
the international references either significantl( lo0er or of the ''eing left 'ehind' nature, 'oth
'ands could 'e clai.ed to identif( 0ith a .ostl( national audience* Ma3i.o Par1's
international aspect, interestingl( captures the afore.entioned tension 'et0een the local and
the glo'al and 0as therefore chosen for further anal(sis*
%7
#.". Analysis of Biffy (lyro
The follo0ing anal(sis 0ill go deeper into the the.es of 2iff( Cl(ro's l(rics and
co.'ine that data 0ith place references in &ideos, identit( state.ents in inter&ie0s and also
pro&ide an insight into 2ritish H Scottish &s* -.erican phonological features 0hile singing*
The reason for including .ultiple sorts of data is to e3tract a .ore inclusi&e picture of
the o&erall discourse of identit( construction of the different 'ands* -s 2lo..aert ($008!
states, identit( is not a sta'le categor( 'ut should 'e seen as ;)artic%lar forms of semiotic
)otential0 or$anise# in a re)ertoire; (p* $0:!* ,e goes on to e3plain that this &ie0 allo0s us
to &ie0 identit( as perfor.ed in a sociall( .eaningful process, 0hich is rather fle3i'le* 4n
su., ;e&er( se.iotic .eans can 'e used to construct such identities; (p* $09!* 4f 0e use this
as our point of departure, there is a strong reason to include .ultiple sources of data to get a
fuller picture of the identit( repertoire the 'ands are proOecting*
#.".1. $yrical analysis. -s could alread( 'e seen in Ta'le %**, there are not .an(
instances of place references of an( categor( in the l(rics of 2iff( Cl(ro* The o&erall topics
of the songs do not usuall( include an( specific places 'ut co&er such the.es as lo&e,
relationships or personal struggle* -ccording to Coupland ($0! this is usual for popular
.usicB ;Popular .usic is no0ada(s &er( largel( a co..on currenc(* This is not to sa( that
that it has lost its ideological associations 0ith &ernacular culture> rather that relationships
'et0een &ernacular and esta'lish.ent cultures ha&e shifted; (p* 8::!* This goes against an
earlier trend in roc1 .usic, 0here social criticis. and 0or1ing class i.ages 0ere strong
the.es* ,o0e&er, these .ore general topics, Coupland argues ($0!, are no less significant,
as the( co&er ;funda.ental hu.an e3periences, stances and e.otions; (p* 8::!* These
the.es can tra&el o&er distance* The( do not need to 'e anchored in a certain &ernacular
culture to 'eco.e highl( personal for indi&idual listeners* This is 0here 2iff( Cl(ro
%:
e&identl( ground their l(rics* The topics of popular culture, 0hich do not position the 'and in
a specific place, li1e @reat 2ritain, 'ut rather 'ring the. ho.e to the indi&idual audience
.e.'ers, no .atter 0here the( are fro.*
Ae&ertheless, there are le3ical features in 2iff( Cl(ro's l(rics that help shape their
identit( o&er ti.e* The first al'u. Blackene# !ky has t0o songs 0hich are na.ed 0ith
nu.'ers (( and 2(! the reason for 0hich is not discerni'le fro. the l(rics* Songs such as
1here3s no !%ch Man as a Cras) and 1here3s no !%ch 1hin$ as a 9a$$ysnake, 0hich partl(
ha&e the sa.e l(rics in&ite the listener to ponder the .eaning of 0ords that do not actuall(
e3ist 'ut the songs clearl( accuse so.eone (a crasp! of 'ad 'eha&ior* Songs such as these,
0hich occur .ostl( on the first three al'u.s are &er( o.inous in their .eanings and hard to
understand, 0hich .ight indicate the perfor.ers 0ant to 'e understood as so.e0hat different
fro. the nor. and e&en .(stical*
Ae&ertheless, there are also so.e &er( personal aspects to the l(rics, if 'ac1ground
infor.ation is added* The al'u. P%//le 0as recorded shortl( after the death of the singer's
.other includes &er( dar1 and 'rooding songs a'out loss and deca(* Cne song, :ol#in$
!tars0 directl( addresses the .other '( na.eB
"leanour, 4 0ould do an(thing for another .inute 0ith (ou
This is an instance 4 counted as a local reference to a person, 0here the person is a
personal associate not of an( character in the song 'ut of the singer 0ho 'eco.es the
protagonist hi.self* This in&ites the listener to directl( identif( 0ith the perfor.ing artist and
;fuses;, as Coupland ($0! puts it, character and person (p* 890!* ;+using; in this sense
.eans that the audience accepts that the perfor.er is singing as hi.self* The character of the
song and the perfor.er of the song can either 'e seen as separate entities or as one and the
sa.e person* 2( including personal histor( into the l(rics, 2iff( Cl(ro in&ite the audience to
%9
identif(, not onl( 0ith the song 'ut 0ith the off5stage persona that e3perienced 0hat the song
is a'out*
The onl( instances of distinctl( local or national place references occur in the title of
one earlier song 1he Ki#s from the Kibble an# the :ist of Li$ht, if 0e assu.e that Ti''le
actuall( refers to the @lasgo0 'ased education center of the sa.e na.e* The repeated
.ention of the 'son of ,enr(' in 1hat 5ol#en -%le on the al'u. 4nly -evol%tions0 referring
to lineage '( ta1ing the i.age of a for.er "nglish 1ing* - third and .ost significant instance
is a line in the song Born on a ;orse on the sa.e al'u.B
4 pronounce it alu.in 5 i 5 u. cause there's an 4 ne3t to the P and M*
Drite it do0n slo0l( and read it out fast*
"&en though the rest of the song does not see. to ha&e .uch to do 0ith this Euote, as
it has the character co.paring hi.self and others in ter.s of horse5related the.es, it &er(
clearl( esta'lishes that the perfor.er is a0are of pronunciation differences 'et0een 2ritish
and -.erican "nglish and clai.s his o0n pronunciation to 'e right* This is the onl( ti.e the
perfor.er distinctl( descri'es hi.self as a spea1er of 2ritish "nglish and therefore localizes
hi.self to 2ritain '( ;using a register that is local, generational, cultural and distincti&e;
(Penn(coo1, $00:', p* 08!* This clearl( happens here, esta'lishing an allegiance 0ith a
national audience 0hile so.e0hat alienating the out5group* The localization can in
theoretical ter.s 'e said to 'e done '( 0hat #ohnstone ($00! calls ;tal1 a'out tal1; (p* 36!*
This occurs 0hen linguistic features of a certain region are associated 0ith a certain culture
and the difference is so significant that it ignites tal1 a'out the linguistic difference and the
feature is then associated 0ith the region*
This is, ho0e&er, the rare e3ception in 2iff( Cl(ro's l(rics* The .ost recent al'u.
uses 'roader place references to different cultures, referring for e3a.ple to ancient Ro.e,
%6
the.atizing struggle and deathB
-ncient Ro.e, 0e 'uilt that fuc1er stone '( stone*
Cur finger 'led, our feet 0ere 0orn*
2ut 0e stood strong and carried on*
The song 1he 9oke3s on <s .a1es references to 'oth a '#uggernaut', originating fro.
,indi .(tholog( and 'California', as a place to .o&e to and find a ne0 0orld* The song
!)anish -a#io features a Mariachi 'and* -ll of these le3ical choices and features indicate an
arra( of different cultures and therefore go to sho0 again that 2iff( Cl(ro do not indicate
close ties to an( particular place or culture in their l(rics 'ut, as 0ith their topics, rather ai.
at the glo'al discourse of popular culture, 0here culturall( di&erse references are useful* This
is in line 0ith Penn(coo1's ($003! &ie0 of glo'alization, 0hich clai.s it ;cannot 'e reduced
to old argu.ents a'out ho.ogeneit( and heterogeneit(, or nation states and i.perialis., 'ut
instead needs to 'e &ie0ed in ter.s of translocalizations and transcultural flo0s; (p* 8$%!*
The reason for using these sorts of transcultural l(rics could 'e si.pl( to not alienate
an( out5groups* Dhen using an a'undance of local referencing, there is al0a(s the danger of
losing audiences, 0hich 0ould o'&iousl( decrease record sales* -s Cra.er and ,allet ($00!
o'ser&e 0hen stud(ing -.erican hip hopB ;<-=rtists can onl( ta1e their local identities so far
'efore losing their audiences; (p* $:!* 4t see.s that apart fro. one e3ception, 2iff( Cl(ro
a&oid this altogether* 4nstead of an( local references, the( therefore use the esta'lished
the.es of popular song ;ro.antic lo&e and lo&e Euests, relational angst and ecstas(, se3ual
Oealous( and triu.ph, 'ut also longing, loss, .iser(, ho.e, tra&el, self5dou't, self5disco&er(
and self5cele'ration> no0ada(s also ageing and .ortalit(; (Coupland, $0, p* 8::!* 4f ta1ing
into account a song title such as Livin$ is a Problem Ca%se 6verythin$ =ies0 it can 'e
concluded that at least l(ricall( 2iff( Cl(ro sho0 their identit( through &er( personal topics
80
of hu.an nature that gi&e a 'road audience the chance to identif( 0ith the. and the
transcultural content of their .usic* This also esta'lishes an authenticit( lin1ed to Coupland's
($00:! notion of ;ontolog(;* So.ething that is authentic .ust ha&e a real e3istence in the
0orld* 2iff( Cl(ro's topics of hu.an nature are real and relata'le for the.sel&es, as 0ell as
for the audience*
#.".". Phonoloical analysis. This ne3t section, 0hich deals 0ith phonological
features in 2iff( Cl(ro's .usic, e3a.ines 0hether the initial assu.ption that the 'and ai.s
for a 'road .ulticultural audience '( .a1ing use of relata'le the.es of hu.an nature,
personal histor( and transcultural places holds for their use of accent or 0hether the( proOect
a .ore local identit( linguisticall(*
The anal(sis is 'ased on the differences 'et0een features of -.erican "nglish and
Scottish "nglish* - count of possi'le features is .ade and then di&ided into 0hether the
-.erican or the 2ritish &ariant 0as used* - total of se&en &aria'les 0ere chosen to anal(ze*
The list of features 0ith the different &ariants can 'e found in Ta'le 3*$* in the Chapter 3* 4f a
0ord occurred .ore than once, onl( one instance is counted* The results of the anal(sis, first
as an o&erall count and then per al'u., per (ear can 'e seen in Ta'le %*$*, %*3* and %*8*
The anal(sis sho0s that o&erall, 2iff( Cl(ro's pronunciation has a higher rate of
Scottish &ariants than .odifications to0ards an -.erican role .odel, 0hich 'ands aspired to
in earlier research .ade '( Trudgill (69%! and P* Si.pson (666!* ,o0e&er, the percentage
of Scottish feature use increases dra.aticall( o&er the (ears* The first three al'u.s still
predo.inantl( use the -.erican &ariant of the &aria'les, 0hile fro. the al'u. P%//le in
$00: on0ards, the predo.inant choice is .ade in fa&or of the Scottish pronunciation*
8
'a)le #.". Phonological -nal(sis of 2iff( Cl(ro, C&erall
Varia'le Scot" &ariants -." &ariants
<t= as in 'etter 3 (%3 HtH ? 6 3 HXH! 3
<a= as in 'ath 5
<i= as in right 8$ 5
<o= as in 'od( ( $
<a= as in face 33 37
<oa= as in goat 9 $3
<ou= as in .outh 7 3
Total 36 (7%a! :9 (37a!
'a)le #.+. Phonological -nal(sis of 2iff( Cl(ro, $00$5$00%
Varia'le $00$ $003 $00%
Scot" -." Scot" -." Scot" -."
<t= as in 'etter 5 5 5 5 HtH $
<a= as in 'ath 5 5 3 5
<i= as in right 6 5 3 5 9 5
<o= as in 'od( 5 $ 5
<a= as in face 7 5 6 3
<oa= as in goat $ : 5 $ 5 %
<ou= as in .outh 5 5 5 %
Total $ (%3a! 7 (8:a! 8 ($%a! 7 (:7a! 3 (3:a! $$ (73a!
'a)le #.#. Phonological -nal(sis of 2iff( Cl(ro, $00:5$03
Varia'le $00: $006 $03
Scot" -." Scot" -." Scot" -."
<t= as in 'etter 3 HtH % HXH % HXH HtH 5
<a= as in 'ath 5 $ 5 $ 5 $
<i= as in right 3 5 6 5 0 5
<o= as in 'od( 3 5 5 5 5
<a= as in face 7 9 3 0
<oa= as in goat 3 8 % 8 6 5
<ou= as in .outh 3 5 7 3 5
Total $7 (78a! % (38a! %$ (:9a! $ ($$a! 3: (63a! 3 (:a!
8$
The pronunciation of inter&ocalic <t= on the 0hole is Scottish rather than -.erican 'ut
onl( in $006 do 2iff( Cl(ro start to use the .ore .ar1ed glottalized &ersion of this
&aria'le HIH, 0hich does not occur at all 'efore* This sho0s that there is a definite shift in the
direction of a strong Scottish accent, setting it .ore apart also fro. other 2ritish dialects that
0ould use HtH inter&ocalicall(*
The <a= &aria'le as in ''ath' is pronounced e3clusi&el( -.erican HYH o&er the 0hole
ti.e period* Mostl( the( 0ere found in the 0ord 'can't' pronounced as H1YntH0 0hich .ight 'e
the standard pronunciation in this particular Scottish accent, considering all other features are
pronounced Scottish in the later al'u.s* The HYH &ariant does, in an( case, e3ist in Scotland
as 0ell as -.erica (Melchers ? Sha0, $003, p* 78!* Therefore, it cannot 'e said that this
feature indicates an orientation to0ards an -.erican pronunciation*
<i= on the other hand is e3clusi&el( pronounced Scottish o&er the 0hole of the ti.e
period* "&en if the first three al'u.s fa&or -.erican &ariants to a certain e3tent, this &ariant
see.s to not ha&e 'een affected '( this* The reason for this is not discerni'le, 'ut it is in line
0ith 0hat Trudgill (69%! alread( found that if 2ritish perfor.ers aspire to an -.erican role
.odel, it is unclear ;e3actl( 0hich -.ericans the( are tr(ing to .odel their 'eha&iour on; (p*
%7!* Therefore, if 2iff( Cl(ro 0ere actuall( tr(ing to i.itate a sort of -.erican accent, the(
0ere not entirel( consistent in the effort, 0hich results in a .i3 of accent features* -ll other
features are increasingl( pronounced the Scottish 0a(, especiall( diphthongs that are 'eing
.onophthongized in Scottish "nglish*
Changing an accent is su'Oect to 0hat Coupland ($00! calls dialect st(lization* This
in&ol&es ;perfor.ing non5current5first5person personas '( phonological and related .eans;
(p* 3%8!* There can 'e se&eral reasons as to 0h( 2iff( Cl(ro .ade use of this in their earlier
al'u.s* +or one, the 'and, not 'eing as successful (et, possi'l( tried to identif( 0ith
83
-.erican 'ands '( 0hich the( 0ere inspired in their (outh, li1e Pearl #a., 0ho 2iff( Cl(ro
.ention in an inter&ie0 0ith +itzpatric1 in $0 and sa( to ha&e related to*
-dditionall(, there are al0a(s aspirations to international success to 'e considered*
-ccording to the theor( of linguistic .ar1etplaces, Ffa&oured patterns of language (st(le,
discourse, accents! are concei&ed of as s(.'olic assets 0hich can recei&e different &alues
depending on the .ar1et in 0hich the( are offeredG (Mesthrie et al*, $006, p* 338!* 4n this
case, -.erican "nglish .ight 'e percei&ed as ha&ing a higher &alue on the international
.usic .ar1et and therefore neutralizing Scottish pronunciation in order to sound .ore
-.erican 0ould allo0 a 'and to orient to this international .ar1et linguisticall(*
This &ie0 can 'e supported '( research conducted '( 2lo..aert ($00!, 0ho found
that an -.erican accent is s(ste.aticall( ;sold; to spea1ers of other languages and dialects
'( language ser&ice pro&iders, clai.ing that ;so.e "uropean accents such as +rench,
@er.an and e&en 2ritish accents are seen as particularl( prone to .isunderstandings; (p* 8$!
and ha&ing an -.erican accent pro.ises higher professional success, as 0ell as higher
confidence* 4n his theor( of audience design, 2ell (69%! calls this an instance 0here the
spea1er s0itches to0ards to an out5group refereeB ;<S=pea1ers la( clai. to a speech and
identit( 0hich are not their o0n 'ut 0hich hold prestige for the. on so.e di.ension; (p*
99!* 4n order for this to pro.ise heightened success, the spea1er and the addressee ha&e to
agree on the prestige of the out5group language* -.erican "nglish 0ould ha&e a higher
prestige in this di.ension than Scottish "nglish does and dialect st(lization is used to create
;strategic in5authenticit(; (Coupland, $00, p* 380! in order to achie&e this higher prestige*
- later orientation a0a( fro. this -.ericanized pattern can suggest 'oth a gro0th
.usicall( and a sta'ilization of a personal identit(* This fits &er( 0ell 0ith P* Si.pson's
suggestion that .usicians often tr( to ;rein&ent; the.sel&es at a certain stage in their career
8%
(P* Si.pson, 666, p* 38:!* The change in pronunciation is also initiated at a ti.e 0hen the
.usic in general changes fro. hea&ier and 0ith occasional screa.ing parts to 'eing lighter
and including .ore 'allads* P%//le is additionall( supposed to 'e a highl( personal al'u.
(Pesche1, $00:!* -s .entioned earlier, the &er( personal l(rics could esta'lish authenticit(
0ith relation to hu.an nature* This could go hand in hand 0ith a .ore linguisticall(
authentic dialect that is also connected .ore to the 'real' people 2iff( Cl(ro than to their
professional .usical identit(*
Rather than to deauthenticate the.sel&es '( using a different accent, it see.s 2iff(
Cl(ro later orient to0ards a for. of authenticit( that goes in line 0ith 0hat in hip5hop
research is often called '1eepin' it real'* 4n her research on 0hite hip hoppers in -.erica,
Cutler ($003! esta'lishes that central to this 1ind of authenticit( is ;the idea that people
should present the.sel&es for 0hat the( are and not 'front' 0ith respect to class, race, and
language use; (p* $8!* Rather than adhering to .ar1et concerns, 2iff( Cl(ro later use their
local accent, 0hich instead localizes the. and shapes a social identit( for the. that is
associated 0ith a place, in this case Scotland (#ohnstone, $00!*
-s 0ell as tr(ing to authenticate the.sel&es linguisticall(, there .a( also 'e an
increased 0ish to identif( 0ith Scottish audiences, as accent is also an instance of place that
can create and in5group feeling (Cra.er ? ,allet, $00!* The follo0ing section deals 0ith
2iff( Cl(ro's .usic &ideos, anal(zing 0hether i.age .aterial supports the clai. the l(ric
anal(sis .ade a'out a highl( glo'alized attitude or 0hether the( go in line 0ith the later
.ore localized phonological tendencies that started 0ith the al'u. P%//le.
#.".+. Place instances in music 5ideos. 2iff( Cl(ro ha&e produced $: .usic &ideos
since $00$* @ee ($0! instructs us that i.ages can 'e read Oust li1e language in ter.s of ho0
the creator of an i.age intended the audience to percei&e the i.age (@ee, $0, p* 9:563!*
88
4n this anal(sis 0e 0ill loo1 at certain features in the .usic &ideos that esta'lish, for
e3a.ple, significance of certain s(.'ols, identities or connections*
The first o'ser&ation to .a1e fro. 2iff( Cl(ro's .usic &ideos is that in contrast to
their phonological de&elop.ent, the &ideos decrease in place references to Scotland and
@reat 2ritain o&er ti.e* The o&erall de&elop.ent is also to0ards .ore a'stract, stor(5'ased
&ideos generall( and to a greater pro.inence of singer Si.on Aeil*
Localization on a national le&el is done e3tensi&el( in the &ideo for >%estions ?
Ans"ers on the second al'u. 1he @erti$o of Bliss. 2efore this &ideo, the &ideos are rather
generic, sho0ing perfor.ances, either li&e or in a setting staged for the &ideos* >%estions ?
Ans"ers, ho0e&er, sho0s a s.all apart.ent the 'and shares, a su'ur' of London, the Pnion
#ac1 on shop displa(s and the road sign of )e.pster Road, pro'a'l( in London Dands0orth*
The 'and 0al1s these streets, finall( setting up a perfor.ance in a par1* -n article on the
'and e3plains that the( used to li&e in a s.all flat a'o&e their record la'el at the ti.e
(+itzpatric1, $0!, 0hich is situated near )e.pster Road in London*
,ere the 'and st(les their &ideo in a distinctl( local fashion* The in5group of
Londoners 0ill read the i.ages and recognize fa.iliar places* 2( this the 'and constructs
.eaning ;'ased on inference dra0n fro. the conte3t and shared 1no0ledge or e3perience;
(Dillia.s, $00, p* 93!* The( position the.sel&es as .e.'ers of a social group, again
;fusing; (Coupland, $0, p* 890! the characters in the &ideo 0ith the perfor.ers '( dra0ing
on personal histor(, as 0ell as 0ider 1no0n place references* This distincti&e use of London
the.es, directl( identifies the 'and as 2ritish 'ut not as Scottish* This i.ager( therefore ai.s
.ore 'roadl( at a national audience, 0here the potential for identification is larger, as
;references to 0ell51no0n land.ar1s and cities aid in reaching out to a larger audience;
(Cra.er ? ,allet, $00, p* $73!*
87
-fter this, the &ideos turn to0ards often displa(ing 0hat can 'e called glocalization
(-li. ? Penn(coo1, $00:!, as the( .i3 local, national features 0ith international ones* The
third al'u. has three &ideos, of 0hich one displa(s this concept* My -ecovery 'nAection at
first glance see.s &er( -.ericanized, and sho0ing i.ages of -.erican high school .o&ies
and of the 'and perfor.ing in a garage 0ith stereot(pical characters such as cheerleaders and
co0girls* There is a soap'o3 race and a le.onade stand, all situated in 0hat see.s li1e an
-.erican su'ur'* ,o0e&er, the garage in 0hich the 'and perfor.s and prepares for the
soap'o3 race has 'oth the 0ell51no0n Scottish flag and the Ro(al Standard of Scotland flag,
0ith Scotland's coat of ar.s on it* -lso, the 'and 0ins the soap'o3 race and cele'rates
0rapped in the Scottish flag*
Dhat is the case here is that 0e see the 'and in an -.erican, and therefore
international, setting 0ith the flags strongl( indicating that the( are not fro. this place* The
stereot(pical i.ages are .a('e e&en ridiculing -.erican culture to so.e degree* This is an
instance 0here allusions to different local and glo'al cultures .i3* - &ideo that could 'e
referred to as glocalized, an instance 0here perfor.ers ;fle3 &arious st(les to con&e( a sense
of .ultiple 'elongings and allegiances; and through this achie&e ;i.agining the.sel&es as
'oth local and glo'al agents in the 0orld; (-li., $006, p* 7!*
T0o of the fi&e &ideos of the fourth al'u., P%//le, carr( this thought again* Cne of
the. (!emi8Mental! sho0s li&e footage as 0ell as 'ehind the scenes studio footage fro. the
al'u. recordings* 4ncluded are also pictures of Ti.e SEuare and .ultiple flags, hung up in
the studio* This &ideo sho0s again the Scottish 'and in -.erican surroundings, depicting
the. personall( as fun and accessi'le 'ut serious a'out their .usic and again displa( a
;h('ridit(5 that is, the fusion of glo'al and local features; (Clar1e ? ,iscoc1, $006, p* $%%!*
The &ideo to the song !at%r#ay !%)erho%se is also of a glocal nature 'ut here the local
8:
part is not indicated '( flags 'ut '( 0hat is referred to '( -ndroutsopolos ($00'! as
'rac1etsB ;<T=he short seEuences at the 'eginning and the end of the song; (p* $:!* 2rac1eting
is a discourse anal(tic tool introduced '( @off.an, .ar1ing off infor.ation fro. the rest of
the e&ent and can add conte3t to the discourse* The &ideo is set on a 'each, 0hich is
supposedl( Californian, 0ith a perfor.ance at a 'each house, initiated '( a group of elderl(
running a pirate radio station* The &ideo is therefore largel( set in an -.erican place>
ho0e&er, the su'titles at the &er( start of the &ideo, 0hen one of the old .en announces the
song on the radio, readB ;So.e nice fellas fro. Scotland;, clearl( again indicating the 'and
as 'eing in an international setting as a Scottish 'and, allo0ing the. to flo0 'et0een t0o
different cultures*
+ro. here on out, the &ideos 'eco.e .ore artistic* Cn 'oth the al'u. 4nly
-evol%tions and the ne0est al'u. 4))osites0 .ultiple &ideos are purel( stor(5'ased and lo0
in localizing features, although one &ideo, Biblical0 e&en has an entirel( -.erican social
language 0ith an -.erican Motel, -.erican dollars and other i.ages adding to the
Californian .otel the.e* References to @reat 2ritain or Scotland are 1ept to &ideos
containing li&e5 or 'ac1stage footage, possi'l( indicating ho0 i.portant it is to pla( concerts
at ho.e and to sho0 allegiance 0ith the ho.e audience* -t the sa.e ti.e, though, the( also
ha&e .ultiple &ideos not ai.ing at a specified audience, therefore, again, opening up the
possi'ilities for 0idening the fan 'ase 0ithout the ris1 of alienating out5groups* The glocal
nature of the &ideos is therefore so.e0hat retained, if 0e &ie0 the localizing li&e &ideos 0ith
national references as one language and the 'neutral' or internationall( oriented ones, as
another* 4n this sense, the 'and 0ould 'e s0itching 'et0een languages, ;0hich can 'oth
0iden audiences and .aintain in5group identit(; (Dillia.s, $00, p* 97!*
Cn the 0hole, the references to @reat 2ritain or Scotland through flags and other
89
s(.'ols start out 'eing used in 'oth stor(5 and perfor.ance5'ased &ideos 'ut later onl(
appear in &ideos featuring li&e5 and 'ac1stage footage* This could indicate that the recording
of li&e perfor.ances and se.i5pri&ate recording sessions sho0 the people 2iff( Cl(ro as
Scottish indi&iduals, 0hile the stor(5'ased &ideos depict the. as characters set apart fro.
their pri&ate identit(* 2efore, no distinction of this sort 0as .ade* ,ere again the distinction
'et0een the character and the person pla(s a role* +irst, the( are 'oth e3pressed in one and
the sa.e &ideo, 0hile later the( are separated, creating ne0 for.s of identit( discourse*
-gain, indi&iduals do not ha&e one identit( 'ut shift 'et0een different identities in different
conte3ts* 4dentit( features are ;con&erted into co.ple3 and su'tle .o.ent5to5.o.ent
spea1ing positions; (2lo..aert, $008, p* $3$!* 4n artistic &ideos, the 'and proOects their
professional and glo'all( oriented ;on5stage; identit(, 0hile in the other &ideos the( proOect a
.ore personal ;off5stage; identit( (Coupland, $0, p* 890!, 0hich includes social features of
nationalit(* This can also 'e connected to authenticit( and '1eepin' it real'* -uthentic identit(
is there 'ound to a glo'al understanding of authenticit( in hip hop that needs to 'e negotiated
0ith local 0a(s of 'eing*
,ere is a perfect e3a.ple of a tension 'et0een on the one hand the spread of a
cultural dictate to adhere to certain principles of 0hat it .eans to 'e authentic, and on
the other, a process of localization that .a1es such an e3pression of sta(ing true to
oneself dependent on local conte3ts, languages, cultures, and understandings of the
real* (Penn(coo1, $00:', p* 03!
The ne3t section deals 0ith .aterial ta1en fro. inter&ie0s conducted 0ith the 'and*
This data sheds light on ho0 the 'and percei&es itself and relates to the.es of place and
glo'alization* So far the data has indicated se&eral identities for 2iff( Cl(ro, 0hich align 0ith
local features as 0ell as culturall( glo'al ones* De 0ill see 0hether the inter&ie0s support
86
this*
#.".#. 4ata from inter5ie1s. -s a first step, the .eta5co..entar( in the articles 0as
anal(zed to see ho0 the Oournalist percei&es the 'and* This is i.portant 'ecause, as
2lo..aert ($008! tells us, ;in order for identit( to 'e esta'lished, it has to 'e reco$ni/e# '(
others* That .eans that a lot of 0hat happens in the field of identit( is done '( others, not '(
oneself; (p* $08!* "speciall( here, 0here the opinions of those others a'out an indi&idual are
.ade pu'lic, the perception of Oournalists can directl( shape the identit( of an artist*
- rough count sho0s that on 7 pages of articles on the 0hole, the 0ords 'Scotland',
'Scottish', '-(rshire,' 'Til.arnoc1', 'Scots.en' and '@lasgo0' are .entioned 37 ti.es '( the
Oournalists, 0hich is a .ean of roughl( t0ice per page and se&en ti.es per article* These
.entionings are of se&eral natures including 'and histor(, personal description and location
description* 4n contrast, 0ords relating to "ngland or 2ritain are onl( .entioned si3 ti.es on
the 0hole*
This high nu.'er of Scottish references in the article te3t sho0s that the 'and is
percei&ed as distincti&el( Scottish '( the Oournalists and the .entioning of this see.s an
i.portant part of the 'and's description* So.ething in their 'eha&ior and perfor.ance during
inter&ie0s .ust cause Oournalists to recognize this identit(* Cne of the Euestions to 'e as1ed
in discourse anal(sis according to @ee ($0! is 0h( so.ething is said or 0ritten a certain
0a( and not another (p* 88!* The fact that the 'and is repeatedl( descri'ed as Scottish, not
si.pl( 2ritish or not at all, suggests the significance of a local identit( 'uilt by the 'and and
in conseEuence also for the. '( the Oournalists*
The state.ents of the 'and the.sel&es as the( appear as direct Euotes in the article
often topicalize the close relationship 'et0een the 'and .e.'ers, t0o of 0ho. are t0ins,
struggles and success of the 'and's .usic, and personal crises* State.ents that relate directl(
70
to ho.e or Scotland onl( occur a'out $ ti.es in the 0hole of the articles, ho0e&er, the
direct Euotes are also a s.aller part of the 0hole*
Man( direct Euotes relate directl( to the i.portance of the .usic itself, esta'lishing in
part the professional identit( of the 'andB
(! ;<D=e'&e 'een a'le to sho0 the. that 0e're sincere as a 'and, and 0e're not here
to 'eco.e rich or fa.ous, 0e're here to pla( .usic; (Lle0ell(n S.ith, $03!*
($! ;@roups li1e the Li'ertines Oust repulsed us, 'ecause the( see.ed to care .ore
a'out the perception of 0ho the( 0ere as people than the .usic; (Lle0ell(n S.ith,
$03!*
(3! ;- lot of 'ands ha&e a unifor. and so.eti.es the('re hiding 'ehind that to a
degree* 2ut for us it 0as a'out stripping 'ac1 and Oust 'eing three gu(s on stage;
(Mclean, $03!*
State.ent (! ai.s at the authenticit( of the 'and as .usicians in a glo'al popular
culture* 4n hip hop, this is also i.portant, as a 'ig part of '1eepin' it real' is adhering to the
cultural constraints of the glo'al hip hop nation (-li., $006> Ter1ourafi, $00> Penn(coo1,
$00:'!* 2iff( Cl(ro 1eep it real '( putting the .usic and sincerit( first in a glo'al .ar1et that
is ulti.atel( profit oriented* State.ent ($! supports this, '( reOecting an( connection to the
genre of 2ritpop, 0hich 0as popular in 2ritain at the ti.e the( started .a1ing .usic,
'ecause those artists &iolate 0hat 2iff( Cl(ro has esta'lished as their .ain source of
authenticit(* This sho0s that authenticit( can 'e a highl( indi&idual process* -s Penn(coo1
($00:'! puts itB
<"=.phasis on 'eing true to oneself .ight ne&ertheless 'e seen as the glo'al spread of
a particular indi&idualist ta1e on 0hat counts as real* The notion of authenticit(,
ho0e&er, can 'e understood not so .uch as an indi&idualist o'session 0ith the self
7
'ut rather as a dialogical engage.ent 0ith the co..unit(* (p* 03!
2iff( Cl(ro 0ant to 'e percei&ed '( the co..unit( as genuine .usicians first and
fore.ost, creating this as a .ain identit( feature 'ecause that is 0hat see.s to 'e real to
the.* The( also proOect their i.age of sincerit( '( al0a(s pla(ing shirtless, 0hich is
indicated in state.ent (3! a'o&e*
This connects to another set of state.ents, 0hich can 'e related to an authenticit( in
the sense that 0e ha&e encountered 'efore, in 'oth the phonological and the l(rics section*
2iff( Cl(ro repeatedl( tr( to create authenticit( through relation to instances of hu.an
nature* This, the( often do through connecting their .usic and perfor.ance 0ith ele.ents of
personal histor( and the ;fusion; (Coupland, $0! of character and perfor.er* The Euotes
'elo0 indicate the i.portance of this personal in&est.ent into the .usic*
(%! ;De do sing a'out things that are &er( personal to .e <***= 4 don't 1no0 if an(one
0ill li1e the., 'ut the( ha&e helped .e so .uch* 4t's 0onderful and 0eird to thin1
these songs are helping others; (+itzpatric1, $0!*
(8! ;4f (ou're 0riting .usic or doing an( 1ind or art, (ou can onl( do 0hat co.es out
of (ou; (Pesche1, $00:!*
(7! ;De pro'a'l( tried to 'e cool as teenagers, 'ut 0e called our 'and 2iff( Cl(ro and
that's not cool, 0e .a1e earnest .usic and that's not cool* De're not nonchalant, 0e
care too .uch to 'e cool; (Lle0ell(n S.ith, $03!*
State.ent (%! directl( relates to this naturalness of topics and personal in&est.ent*
Together 0ith state.ent (8!, it also indicates ho0 2iff( Cl(ro 'uild a relationship 0ith their
audience* @ee ($0! e3plains that language is largel( used to ;'uild relationships 0ith other
people and 0ith groups and institutions; (p* %!* Clearl( the 'and is a0are of their
responsi'ilit( to0ards an audience, (et as said in state.ent (%!, there is no possi'ilit( to .a1e
7$
.usic i.personal* Therefore the relationship that the audience esta'lishes 0ith the .usic, is
al0a(s lin1ed to the personal e3periences of the 'and*
-part fro. tal1ing a'out .usic and the personal relationship the( ha&e 0ith .usic,
2iff( Cl(ro also .a1e use of place instances in their inter&ie0s* -s .entioned 'efore, place
is a feature 0ith high se.iotic potential that can easil( inde3 local identit( (Cra.er ? ,allet,
$00!* The 0ord 'ho.e'0 0hen used '( the 'and, al0a(s refers to ScotlandB
(:! ;De 0ouldn't 'e the 'and 0e are if 0e hadn't gro0n up 0here 0e did <***= There
0eren't an( other 'ands around, so there 0as no one to influence us; (Lle0ell(n
S.ith, $00!*
(9! ;Sou're d(ing to get a0a( fro. ho.e 0hen (ou're a teenager <***= 'ut as soon as
(ou're a 0ee 'it older (ou realize no0here's going to co.pete; (Lle0ell(n S.ith,
$00!*
State.ent (:! highlights the i.portance of heritage for the identit( of the 'and, and
state.ent (9! additionall( inde3es the strong ties the 'and still has to their ho.e* 4f 0e pair
these state.ents 0ith (6! and (0! 'elo0, 0e can see that a sense of localit( is directl(
i.plied '( the 'and*
(6! ;)rin1ing too .uch *** it's a funn( thing for a Scots.an to 0orr( a'out;
(Lle0ell(n S.ith, $03!*
(0! ;4t's a &er( 0estern Scottish attitude <***= De'&e al0a(s 0anted to pro&e people
0rong <***=; (+itzpatric1, $0!*
Coupland ($00:! 0rites that ;e&en 0ithin local spaces, a sense of the local needs to 'e
achie&ed 5 to 'e .ade sociall( .eaningful; (p* $$! and #ohnstone ($00! clai.s that ;social
effort is reEuired to produce the identities that 0ere once thought to 'e inherent; (p* %00!*
+ro. this perspecti&e, in a glo'alized 0orld, it is no longer enough to 'e fro. a place*
73
4nstead, an effort has to 'e .ade to e3press a local identit(, if one 0ishes others to recognize
it* 2( referring to the i.portance of ho.e, as in (:! and (9! and directl( aligning the.sel&es
0ith Scottish culture and &alues, as in (6! and (0!, 2iff( Cl(ro esta'lish a clearl( local
identit(, apart fro. that indicated in the earlier state.ents, 0here .usic 0as put first* ,ere
0e see ho0 ;identit( 0or1 see.ed to 'e the.aticall( organized, 0ith shifts in identit(
co.ple.enting the.atic shifts; (2lo..aert, $008, p* $0!*
2iff( Cl(ro see. to 'e &er( a0are of these shifts of identit( according to the.e on a
0ider scale* State.ent (! sho0s that the( are a'le to dra0 the line 'et0een their
professional and their personal identit(B
(! ;,iring a .ariachi 'and to record a song can feel a 'it e3traneous if (ou're
thin1ing a'out 0hen to pa( (our council ta3 <***= 'ut in La5La Land (ou can do
things that at ho.e 0ould feel co.pletel( ridiculous; (Lle0ell(n S.ith, $03!*
This state.ent can 'e related to the &alue of certain social goods and the politics of
discourse* ;2( 'politics' 4 .ean, not go&ern.ent and political parties, 'ut an( situation 0here
the distri'ution of social goods is at sta1e* 2( 'social goods' 4 .ean an(thing a social group or
societ( ta1es as a good 0orth ha&ing; (@ee, $0, p* 9!* To relate this to the current
situation, 0e can use 2lo..aert ($008!, 0ho states that ;societ( is full of niches in 0hich
highl( particular identities can and need to 'e perfor.ed, using resources that ha&e no such
positi&e identit(5perfor.ing &alues else0here; (p* $06!* Clearl( 2iff( Cl(ro are a0are that
.usical e3tra&agance does not ha&e the sa.e &alue on a personal le&el as it does
professionall(* The( .a1e use of place reference to lin1 the professional identit( 0ith an
international place, in this case L-, 0hile the personal identit( sta(s tied to ho.e, 0here it is
&alued to 'e part of a social co..unit(*
4n su., it is eas( to see ho0 2iff( Cl(ro .a1e use of se&eral identities 0hen tal1ing
7%
a'out the.sel&es in inter&ie0s* - professional identit(, authenticated '( putting the .usic
'efore other concerns in the real. of glo'al popular culture and a clai. to sincerit( and
personal in&est.ent in this .usic* This professional identit( is lin1ed to international places
in the last state.ent* -dditionall(, the( proOect a &er( clear local identit( '( referring to their
ho.e and its i.portance as 0ell as identif(ing 0ith local culture and &alues*
#.".,. 4iscussion. The four parts of the anal(sis sho0 that 2iff( Cl(ro proOect a
so.e0hat .i3ed identit(* The l(rical anal(sis suggests a highl( glo'al approach, .a1ing use
of transcultural (Penn(coo1, $003! topics that deal 0ith ;funda.ental hu.an e3periences;
(Coupland, $0, p* 8::!* This gi&es the. a 0orldl( identit( that at the sa.e ti.e reflects
authenticit( '( using real and personal topics (;ontolog(;B Coupland, $00:!* The
phonological anal(sis sho0s that initiall( the 'and .ade use of dialect st(lization and
so.e0hat deauthenticated the.sel&es '( using accent features that 0ere not their o0n
(Coupland, $00!* This approach reflects a confor.it( to standards used in 2ritish .usic
earlier in ti.e (Trudgill, 69%! and .ight 'e .oti&ated '( financial considerations due to the
percei&ed higher &alue of -.erican "nglish (2ell, 69%> 2lo..aert, $00!* - return to
Scottish pronunciation after the third al'u. could indicate a rein&ention of the perfor.ance
and a stronger 0ish to identif( 0ith in5group audiences in Scotland (Cra.er ? ,allet, $00!
as 0ell as a greater interest in authenticit( on this personal le&el* -dhering to the principles of
'1eepin' it real' in hip hop culture includes the idea that one is not supposed to ;front; Eualities
that one does not o0n (Cutler, $003!*
2oth the &ideo and inter&ie0 anal(sis also indicate se&eral different identities* 4n
earlier &ideos 'oth a glo'al, professional identit( and a personal Scottish identit( 0ere .i3ed
in all 1inds of &ideos, 0hile later Scottish place .ar1ers 0ere onl( found in li&e5 and
'ac1stage footage featuring &ideos, indicating the the.atic organization of identit( 0or1
78
(2lo..aert, $008!* This also co.es through in inter&ie0s, 0here .usical features are lin1ed
0ith international places and a professional identit(, 0hile tal1 a'out ho.e is associated 0ith
cultural &alues and social practice*
Coupland ($00! argues that in a late5.odern societ( ;identities .ight necessaril( 'e
h('rid <***= 'ut the cultural essence cannot 'e under&alued; (p* $76!* This notion co.es
through &er( 0ell in the anal(sis of 2iff( Cl(ro* The( do fle3 se&eral different identities,
0hich partl( fit into a glo'alized &ie0 of popular culture 'ut partl( also pull 'ac1 to &er(
local, culturall( distincti&e features* This said, 2iff( Cl(ro are a good e3a.ple of
glocalization, 0here ;the glo'al 'eco.es localized and the local 'eco.es glo'alized; (Lee,
$00, p* %0!* To su. up 0ith Penn(coo1's 0ordsB ;<S=uch locall( e.erging scenes are
neither a .ere reflection of a glo'al culture nor nationall( 'ound local appropriations, 'ut
rather participants in a .uch .ore d(na.ic flo0 of linguistic and cultural influences;
(Penn(coo1, $006, p* 33$!* 4n a glo'alized 0orld, cultural e3change is ine&ita'le* The .i3 of
features in 2iff( Cl(ro's data sho0s this*
#.+. Analysis of the Arctic Monkeys
-s 0ith 2iff( Cl(ro 'efore, 4 'egin the presentation of the -rctic Mon1e(s data 0ith
the l(rical anal(sis, follo0ed '( the anal(sis of phonological data, .usic &ideos and
inter&ie0s* 4n this case, 4 0ill also co.pare .( findings 0ith 2eal's ($006! earlier stud( of
the 'and*
#.+.1. $yrical analysis. The o&erall anal(sis of place instances in the l(rics of the
-rctic Mon1e(s sho0s a high nu.'er of national references, .ost of 0hich are le3ical,
.eaning the use of slang and specificall( 2ritish &ariants of 0ords* -dditionall(, the -rctic
Mon1e(s use region specific slang and na.e &er( specific places, 0hich 0as not featured in
2iff( Cl(ro's l(rics a'o&e*
77
There 0ere four instances of local slang, all on the first al'u. 2hatever Peo)le !ay '
am0 1hat3s 2hat '3m .ot, 0hich has the highest rate of local and national place inde3es in
general* Cn the al'u., 'oth 'o0t' and 'no0t' are used, .eaning so.ethingHan(thing
%
and
nothing
8
in the north of "ngland* -dditionall( the ter. 'Mard( 2u.', in the song 0ith the
sa.e na.e is &er( specific for the north of "ngland (2eal, $006, p* $38!* 2eal also .entions
the use of 'right' as an intensifier, 'got the face on' and 'can't 'e arsed' fro. the sa.e song as
region specific (.( count onl( includes the last of these three!*
4n his stud( of .ultilingualis. in @er.an hip hop, -ndroutsopoulos ($00'! o'ser&es
the follo0ingB ;Language st(le in l(rics needs therefore to 'e studied as an outco.e of
strategic st(ling decisions 0ithin specific social and historical conte3ts; (p* $0!* De can
assu.e that it is not '( accident that the -rctic Mon1e(s .a1e use of a high nu.'er of
localizations, especiall( in their earl( l(rics* The song :ake 1ales of !an :rancisco is a case
in point 0hen it co.es to na.ing specific places* The song refers to 'ands that sing a'out
cultures and the.es that are not their o0n, i*e* 2ritish 'ands singing a'out San +rancisco*
This is highl( criticized in the song as lac1ing authenticit(* ',unter's 2ar', a su'ur' of
Sheffield and 'Rotherha.', a to0n right outside Sheffield are .entioned in the songB
,e tal1s of San +rancisco, he's fro. ,unter's 2ar
4 don't Euite 1no0 the distance
2ut 4'. sure that's far
Sou're not fro. Ae0 Sor1 Cit(, (ou're fro. Rotherha.
C'&iousl(, international places are also .entioned here 'ut onl( for co.parison* The
Sheffield su'ur's ',igh @reen' and ',ills'orough' are also .entioned on the al'u., as are
2ritish specific 0ords such as 'truncheon'0 'copper', 'croo1' and 'tril'('* 2ritish culture is also
% C0t* (n*d*!* 4n <rban =ictionary* Retrie&ed fro. httpBHH000*ur'andictionar(*co.Hdefine*phpVter.[o0t
8 Ao0t* (n*d*!* 4n <rban =ictionary. Retrie&ed fro. httpBHH000*ur'andictionar(*co.Hdefine*phpVter.[no0t
7:
referred to 0ith the .ention of '+ran1 Spencer', a character in an old 2ritish sitco., the
character of 'Ro3anne' fro. a song '( The Police as 0ell as 'Sherloc1 ,ol.es'*
-ll in all, this al'u. is loaded 0ith national and local references, clearl( sho0ing an
affiliation to "ngland and the Sheffield region in particular* Clearl(, Euite so.e of these
appeal especiall( to an in5group audience and are highl( localized* The 'and .a1es
su'stantial use of signif(ing (Dillia.s, $00! and social conte3tualization* Coupland ($00:,
$00! defines one process of social conte3tualization as &oicingB ;@oicin$ refers to ho0 a
spea1er represents or i.plies o"nershi) of an utterance or a 0a( of spea1ing; (Coupland,
$00:, p* %!* 2( using topics and language co..on of their o0n region, the -rctic
Mon1e(s i.pl( that the( ;o0n; their .usic, spea1 the.sel&es as part of the co..unit( and
therefore ;fro. that particular place; (2lo..aert, $008, p* $$3!* The -rctic Mon1e(s st(le
their l(rics on this al'u. specificall( for an audience that is fa.iliar 0ith the Sheffield
region, a 2ritish and northern "nglish le3icon and instances of 2ritish culture, proOecting a
highl( localized identit( and identification 0ith their in5group audience*
The topics of the songs are descri'ed '( a Oournalist asB ;<)=irt5poor scrotes, goading
the coppers, s0igging and s.o1ing their 0a( through the da(s till the ine&ita'le scuffle in the
ta3i Eueue and ride ho.e to so.e godforsa1en housing estate on the top of a rain5lashed
.oor; (-r.itage, $006!* "&en though Oournalistic st(le is used in this description, it is Euite
accurate and the( are topics to 0hich teenagers in and around Sheffield can relate* To so.e
e3tent these topics pre&ail also in the ne3t t0o al'u.s 0ith 0o.en and lo&e 'eco.ing .ore
serious su'Oects, as a part of gro0ing up*
,o0e&er, in the su'seEuent al'u.s, the e3pression of Sheffield identit( through
le3ical choices su'sides significantl(* Local place na.es disappear fro. the l(rics 0ith the
e3ception of pro'a'l( .ade5up pu' na.es in the song Cornerstone on the third al'u.*
79
Aational le3ical ite.s such as ''lo1e', 'rec1on', ''olloc1s' and 'go'' are still used, especiall(
often on the second al'u. :avorite 2orst .i$htmare* -fter that, slang use al.ost stops as
0ell, 0ith the e3ception of one or t0o Euite specific 0ords per al'u.* Cultural references are
also rare 'ut if the( are .ade, li1e on the fourth al'u. !%ck it an# !ee0 the( are of 'oth
international (',eart'rea1 ,otel', a song '( "l&is Presle( or the 'Sundance Tid', referencing
an -.erican Destern .o&ie! and national nature (')andelion ? 2urdoc1', a 2ritish softdrin1
or '2lac1 Treacle', a 2ritish coo1ing and 'a1ing product!*
The fifth and ne0est al'u., as 0ell as sounding &er( different fro. its predecessors,
0ith influences fro. for e3a.ple R'n'2 and ha&ing .ore serious, ro.antic songs, also .a1es
so.e international references, for e3a.ple to the 'rand Lacoste, the )eAiro .o&ie 'Mean
Streets' and the 'Pacific Ccean' in itself* 2ritish culture is &isi'le in the .ention 'Trac( 4sland',
a 2ritish science fiction series and the 'Stones', as 0ell as a '+ord Cortina', once 2ritain's .ost
sold car* Ae&ertheless, there is no co.parison to the a'undance of local references,
e3pression li1e the use of the 0ord 'su..at', Sor1shire slang for 'so.ething' 'eing the
e3ception*
The Euestion to as1 is 0h( the -rctic Mon1e(s so co.pletel( a'andoned their
l(ricall( local inde3ing fro. the first al'u. until no0* - possi'ilit( is co..ercial
consideration* -s alread( .entioned in the 2iff( Cl(ro anal(sis, so.e language features
carr( higher &alue on an international .usic .ar1et than others* Le3ical usage that strongl(
fa&ors a local audience o&er an international one puts a constraint on the possi'ilit( of
international success* -s alread( .entioned, ta1ing a local identit( too far al0a(s 'ares the
ris1 of losing audiences (Cra.er ? ,allet, $00, p* $:!* Cra.er and ,allett o'ser&ed that
artists so.eti.es start out using a large nu.'er of local references 'ut then 0iden the scope,
once a certain le&el of fa.e is achie&ed* This could also 'e 0hat is happening 0ith the -rctic
76
Mon1e(s* Dhile the( do not co.pletel( a'andon the use of local features, the( considera'l(
reduce it in order to not alienate audiences, as a professional e3istence is pro'le.atic 0ith
onl( a local audience* ,eller ($00! o'ser&es that in a glo'alized 0orld, there is a 'alance to
'e found 'et0een 0anting to 'e authentic on a local le&el and sta(ing intelligi'le (p* 38:!*
4nitiall( the st(le of the -rctic Mon1e(s is appealing, ho0e&er, those unfa.iliar 0ith the
Sheffield region and dialect 0ill onl( follo0 so far 'efore losing interest*
The descri'ed progression indicates that the -rctic Mon1e(s, at least l(ricall(, started
positioning the.sel&es closer to the .ainstrea., .a1ing greater use of the topics of
;funda.ental hu.an e3perience; (Coupland, $0, p* 8::! .entioned in the 2iff( Cl(ro
anal(sis, than of local discourse* This goes strongl( against the identit( the( created at the
outset of their career, descri'ed '( 2eal ($006!B ;<+=ro. the outset, -rctic Mon1e(s ha&e
.ade a point of stressing their independence fro. the .ainstrea., e&en at the ris1 of
under.ining their o0n co..ercial success; (p* $$8!* 2eal e3e.plifies this '( Euoting fro.
the l(rics of an -rctic Mon1e(s e3tended pla( that is not part of .( dataB
;2ut 0e'll stic1 to the guns
)on't care if it's .ar1eting suicidal
Don't crac1 or co.pro.ise;
4n the follo0ing data anal(sis, 0e e3a.ine 0hether an(thing else points to an
a'andon.ent of the earl( .ainstrea. a&oiding, locall( oriented identit( the -rctic Mon1e(s
'uilt for the.sel&es through their l(rics and also their tendenc( to a&oid a0ard sho0s and
'eing pri&ate a'out their histor( and personal life (2eal, $006, p* $$8!
#.+.". Phonoloical analysis. The phonological anal(sis is again a co.parison
'et0een the PS-58 features and the features used in the ho.e accent of the -rctic Mon1e(s
0hich is the north of "ngland* The list of differences can 'e found in Ta'le 3** in Chapter 3*
:0
The count 0ill 'e sho0n first o&erall and then per al'u. (ear* So.e other features that 0ere
not counted 'ut .entioned '( 2eal in $006, 0ill also 'e dealt 0ith*
'a)le #.,. Phonological -nal(sis of the -rctic Mon1e(s, C&erall
Varia'le Ao" &ariants -." &ariants
<t= as in 'etter 33 %
<a= as in 'ath 3 $
<r= as in girl %$ 5
<i= as in right 86 7
<o= as in 'od( $0 3
<o= as in lo&e 36 %
Total 30$ (6%a! 6 (7a!
'a)le #.%. Phonological -nal(sis of the -rctic Mon1e(s, $0075$006
Varia'le $007 $00: $006
Ao" -." Ao" -." Ao" -."
<t= as in 'etter 7 5 9 5 7 5
<a= as in 'ath % 5 3 5 $
<r= as in girl $$ 5 3: 5 $9 5
<i= as in right % 5 6 5 0 5
<o= as in 'od( % 5 3 5 8
<o= as in lo&e $ 5 6 5 0 5
Total 7$ (00a! 5 76 (00a! 5 70 (6:a! $ (3a!
'a)le #.*. Phonological -nal(sis of the -rctic Mon1e(s, $05$03
Varia'le $0 $03
Ao" -." Ao" -."
<t= as in 'etter 8 $ % $
<a= as in 'ath $ 5 $
<r= as in girl $% 5 3 5
<i= as in right 3 5 3 7
<o= as in 'od( 3 7
<o= as in lo&e 8 $ 3 $
Total 8$ (6a! 8 (6a! %6 (76a! $ (3a!
:
-s can 'e seen in the o&erall count in Ta'le %*8*, the -rctic Mon1e(s ha&e a sta'le
"nglish accent* "speciall( 0hen it co.es to the non5rhoticit( of their accent, there are no
e3ceptions in the 0hole of the data* - fe0 things are nonetheless i.portant to .ention*
+or one, the first t0o al'u.s and for the .ost part also the third ha&e no instances of
the PS-58 features 0hatsoe&er* This coincides 0ith 0hat 2eal ($006! has alread( said a'out
the -rctic Mon1e(sB ;-le3 Turner's perfor.ance in singing is characterized '( the a'sence of
'-.erican' features nor.all( present in 2ritish pop singing and the presence of a nu.'er of
local features of pronunciation and le3is; (p* $38!* The -rctic Mon1e(s proOect a 0holl(
northern "nglish and in this case Sheffield identit( '( using a strongl( .ar1ed accent* +or
e3a.ple, in all possi'le locations the singer pronounces <u= consistentl( as H\H, 0hich has the
strongest i.pact on the perception of the songs as sung '( a northern "nglish singer*
2eal ($006! additionall( descri'es the use of glottal stops at the end of 0ords and
&ariations of dental fricati&es, 0hich are co..onl( used in the Sheffield area '( so.e
spea1er groups, as 0ell as freEuent h5dropping, 0hich 4 ha&e not counted, in order to
replicate PS-58 studies as closel( as possi'le, 'ut si.ilarl( o'ser&ed (p* $3$!*
"&en in the later t0o al'u.s, "nglish pronunciation features are still the strong
.aOorit(* ,o0e&er, so.e -.erican features can 'e o'ser&ed, such as rare flapping of <t=,
occasional pronunciation of <i= as in 'right' leaning to0ards a .ore open HaH and also so.e
.odification of <o=* The fact that these instances are Euite rare, could indicate that there is no
acti&e atte.pt to .odif( pronunciation to0ards an -.erican role .odel 'ut .erel(
.odification due to .elodic or l(rical constraints, 0hich is al0a(s a possi'ilit( 0hen
anal(zing .usic*
The presence of those rare non52ritish features ho0e&er lessens the i.pact of the
for.erl( strongl( regionall( influenced accent and .a1es the pronunciation less .ar1ed* 4
:$
propose that this is due to the fact that in Euite a fe0 instances an <o= that 0ould in the earlier
al'u.s ha&e 'een pronounced as H\H is pronounced 0ith a less regionall( specific, (et still
2ritish &ariant HNH* This could indeed 'e an indicator of the singer tr(ing to 'e percei&ed as
2ritish 'ut not necessaril( fro. a specific region* This &ie0 can 'e supported '( the
assu.ption Cra.er and ,allett ($00! .ade that 0ere alread( .entioned in the l(rical
anal(sis* Dith increasing fa.e perfor.ers .ight turn to a 0ider scope of features and
references, 0hich lessens the in5group effect 'ut in&ites 0ider audiences*
This shift coincides 0ith the .o&e of the 'and to -.erica and the greater success of
the 'and outside of "urope* This could indicate an intended audience that is less locall(
defined and .ore international* +inancial concerns due to the possi'l( lo0er &alue of a &er(
local accent on a linguistic .ar1etplace of international .usic 0ould 'e a factor in this case*
-gain, there is a tension 'et0een regional authenticit( and intelligi'ilit( in the ne0 econo.(
of the glo'alized 0orld (,eller, $00, p* 38:!* Cn a higher le&el, there is also tension 'et0een
standardization and local language* Cn a glo'al .ar1et, a co..on thought is that products
'eco.e standardized o&er ti.e* ,o0e&er, precisel( this opens up possi'ilities to esta'lish
niche .ar1ets in 0hich to use local language attached to the &alue of local authenticit(
(,eller, $00, p* 380538:!, 0hich in itself .irrors the thought 'ehind '1eepin' it real'*
Therefore, using a local accent could 'e argued to ha&e the &alue of authenticit( and
'eing true to oneself 'ut at the sa.e ti.e .ar1et concerns are al0a(s pulling to0ards
standardization and authenticit( in ter.s of popular culture* 4n this sense, it is onl(
reasona'le for the -rctic Mon1e(s to st(lize their accent to0ards a .ore standardized 2ritish
accent under a process of glocalization* This 0a(, the( do not lose their 2ritish identit( 'ut
gi&e up on the distincti&e association 0ith the Sheffield area and possi'l( ta1ing the local too
far (Cra.er ? ,allett, $00!*
:3
The do0nfall of this process .ight 'e the loss of parts of the local audience* - stud(
conducted in Scotland '( -'ra.s and ,ogg (69:! sho0ed that 0hen confronted 0ith
recordings of different accents, teenagers 0ould al0a(s attach the highest &alue to the accent
of their o0n ho.e to0n 'ut still &alue a different Scottish accent higher than an "nglish one*
This .eans spea1ers of Sheffield "nglish 0ill possi'l( rate the 'ne0' -rctic Mon1e(s accent
considera'l( lo0er*
Ao0 that 0e ha&e esta'lished that the -rctic Mon1e(s 'lost' their distinct local identit(
on 'oth the l(rical and to so.e degree on the phonological le&el, 0e turn to anal(zing their
.usic &ideos to see if this trend continues e&en further*
#.+.+. Place instances in music 5ideos. The -rctic Mon1e(s had recorded $3 .usic
&ideos at the ti.e of the data collection* Aot surprisingl(, 0hen loo1ing at the l(rical anal(sis
of 2hatever Peo)le !ay ' am0 1hat3s 2hat '3m .ot0 the fi&e &ideos fro. this al'u. are also
greatl( Sheffield inspired* :ake 1ales of !an :rancisco sho0s a s.all li&e concert and
pictures of an ur'an setting that Oudging '( a sign in the direction of ,unter's 2ar 0ere fil.ed
in Sheffield* -dditionall( the 0ord S,"+ is &isi'le, so.eone 0ears an '4 lo&e London' t5shirt
and a fa1e 2ritish police hel.et* The ne3t three &ideos for Leave Before the Li$hts Come on0
2hen the !%n 5oes =o"n and 1he @ie" :rom the Afternoon are stor(5'ased and sho0 the
'and onl( shortl( or not at all* -ll three stories are definitel( set in Sheffield, as places such
as The Cre.orne pu', the Red Tape Studios, the ,orse ? Lion and Sipelia Dor1s are easil(
placed in the cit( through internet research, if one is not fa.iliar 0ith the surroundings* 1he
@ie" :rom the Afternoon 0as shot in Par1 ,ill, Sheffield, a rather poor, 0or1ing class
neigh'orhood and sho0s the stor( of a dru..er that undergoes a si.ilar process as 2uddha
0hen he 0as see1ing enlighten.ent*
The -rctic Mon1e(s o'&iousl( dra0 fro. local 1no0ledge and conte3tualize their
:%
Sheffield identit( in (et another for.* References to local culture and places esta'lish, again,
an in5group feeling (Cra.er ? ,allett, $00!* The 'and defines itself through place and the(
.a1e this recogniza'leB ;<P=lace defines people, 'oth in their o0n e(es and in the e(es of
others; (2lo..aert, $008, p* $$3!* 2( .a1ing use of all these distincti&e place features, the
-rctic Mon1e(s proOect a sense of 'elonging that is through and through attached to the
Sheffield region in all aspects of their earl( career*
The second al'u. alread( goes a0a( fro. this trend* Local inde3icals, if found at all
in these &ideos, are of a solel( national nature, reflecting 0hat 0as said a'o&e a'out the &alue
of standardization on a glo'al .ar1et (,eller, $00!* The &ideos for the third al'u. are
0ithout an( localizations* This is in line 0ith the trends alread( o'ser&ed in 'oth the l(rical
and phonological anal(sis that the -rctic Mon1e(s are steering clear of their initiall( solel(
locall( perfor.ed identit(*
The &ideos of the fourth al'u. !%ck it an# !ee0 ho0e&er, are loaded 0ith local
inde3es* 4n the &ideo to !%ck it an# !ee, the 'and is sho0n recording in ,oll(0ood> ho0e&er
in the 'eginning a girl is listening to a &in(l of the song that has the Sheffield coat of ar.s on
it* This use of ;'rac1eting; (-ndroutsopoulos, $00'!, putting infor.ation in the start
seEuence of the &ideo, 0as alread( o'ser&ed in one of 2iff( Cl(ro's l(rics* "&en though the
&ideo is internationall( placed, the introduction seEuence gi&es the 0hole discourse a local
conte3t* - second &ideo includes scenes of a ga.e of the Sheffield local soccer clu' and one
of the 'and .e.'ers perfor.ing the V5sign, understood as a strong insult in 2ritain as 0ell
as an -.erican Cadillac in the streets of possi'l( L-* The &ideo to 1he ;ellcat !)an$le#
!halalala sho0s li&e and 'ac1stage footage fro. L-, the -.erican flag is &isi'le on an
-rctic Mon1e(s t5shirt and a .otorc(cle hel.et and a 'and .e.'er is 0earing a Raiders cap*
-n additional inde3 for -.erica in this &ideo is the use of the stereot(pical red plastic cups
:8
usuall( used at parties in -.erican .o&ies and an L- street sign* These &ideos all .i3
-.erican 0ith 2ritish and Sheffield inde3es or, in case of the last, entirel( -.erican inde3es,
creating a .i3ed discourse that no0 entirel( 'rea1s 0ith the earl( e3clusi&el( local identit(
perfor.ance and glo'alizes local features*
Lee ($00! Euotes fro. Shi., 0hen he o'ser&es that ;glo'alization, particularl( in
the real. of popular culture, 'reeds a creati&e for. of h('ridization that 0or1s to0ards
sustaining local identities in the glo'al conte3t; (Shi., $007, as cited in Lee, $00, p* %0!*
This process of glocalization is e3actl( 0hat happens in the -rctic Mon1e(s &ideos, as 0ell
as their l(rics and to so.e e3tent also their pronunciation* Local authenticit( is inter0o&en
0ith international references pointing to an identification 0ith a glo'al popular culture of
.usic, 0hat '1eepin' it real' is all a'out (Cutler, $003!*
The ne3t three &ideos fro. the sa.e al'u. tell a continuous stor( 0ith the dru..er
of the 'and as the .ain character* These three &ideos are especiall( significant 'ecause the(
e3ploit highl( stereot(pical i.ages of -.erica* The stor( includes cri.inal .otorc(cle
gangs, guns, se3, -.erican flags and orange prison Ou.p suits* The setting is Californian and
Las Vegas as 0ell as Salt La1e Cit( are also recogniza'le through te3tual additions* The onl(
inde3es of 2ritishness is the occasional &isi'ilit( of a 2ritish flag, ho0e&er in the first &ideo,
it is l(ing on the ground and the .ain characters are using it as a 'lan1et upon 0hich the(
see. to 'e a'out ha&e se3 0ith each other*
The possi'le reason for these highl( stereot(pical &ideos could 'e that the -rctic
Mon1e(s 0ere increasingl( accused of 'eco.ing -.ericanized and 'etra(ing their heritage*
4n response, it see.s the( use a tactic descri'ed '( ,ill (666, p* 88$! as
;h(perperfor.ance;* -pparentl( in order to escape criticis. of 'eing too -.erican, the(
produced a h(per5-.erican identit(, ridiculing the culture the( are dra0ing fro. and
:7
therefore on a certain le&el aligning again 0ith their 2ritish heritage '( inde3ing superiorit(*
Dhat the( are .a1ing use of, is a highl( st(lized for. of strategic in5authenticit( that
has to do 0ith the concept of .oc1ingB ;<-=ttri'uting negati&e &alue to a .oc1ed target;
through ;te.porar( e.'odi.ent of a ridiculed figure 0ho there'( 'eco.es the target of
critical co..entar(; (Chun, $006, p* $0!* ,ill e3plains this 0ith the use of ;Moc1 Spanish;
in -.ericaB ;Moc1 Spanish spea1ers see. to self5consciousl( produce 'h(peranglicized' (,ill
663! to1ens of Spanish, or a'surd .acaronic utterances li1e ;asty l%mba$o (.oc1ing hasta
l%e$o!, 0hich 4 ha&e argued has the purpose of clearl( 'ounding a '0hite' identit(; (,ill,
666, p* 88$!* This for. of st(lization can also 'e associated 0ith parod(, 0hich Coupland
($00! descri'es as ;acti&el( discrediting the cultural for.s 'eing ente3tualized; (p* 3:!*
Ma1ing use of h(perperfor.ance in this 0a( is still a process of glocalization, as the local
clearl( interacts 0ith the glo'al* The -rctic Mon1e(s e3aggerate '-.erica' in order to
highlight their 2ritish identit(* The( are a'le to ;cue the targeted persona, 'ut allo0 the &oice
of the perfor.er to co.e across si.ultaneousl(; (@i'son, $0, p* 707!*
-fter this, the &ideos go 'ac1 to the 0a( the( 0ere st(lized 'efore, .i3ing glo'al and
local features 0ithout h(perperfor.ances, indicating that the -.ericanized &ideo seEuence
0as a te.porar( identit( perfor.ance, used to indicate that the -rctic Mon1e(s do not
identif( the.sel&es 0ith -.erica in a serious 0a( 'ut &alue their o0n culture .ore highl(*
Cn the 0hole the -rctic Mon1e(s .a1e an easil( o'ser&a'le de&elop.ent 0hen it
co.es to their &ideos, 0hich is Euite si.ilar to that of their l(rics* The( start out 0ith highl(
local Sheffield references and fro. there go to0ards .ore national references and e&en
international -.erican inde3es 0ith occasional Sheffield and 2ritish references, 0hich is
Euite si.ilar to the glocalized &ideos anal(zed in the case of 2iff( Cl(ro* The( change fro.
esta'lishing authenticit( on a &er( local le&el to for.s of glocalized authenticit(, adhering to
::
'oth local features and de.ands of glo'al popular culture, 0ith 0ider ranging topics and
transcultural inde3es (Penn(coo1, $00:'!*
The .ost significant de&elop.ent is the interlude of h(perperfor.ed -.erican
stereot(pes, possi'l( in order to oppose accusations of 'eco.ing -.ericanized* This hints at
the earl( identit( proOection of the -rctic Mon1e(s, 0here the( opposed the .ainstrea. in
fa&or of doing things 'their o0n 0a(' no .atter 0hat the reaction of the pa(ing audience 0ill
'e (2eal, $006!*
The ne3t section sheds so.e light on ho0 the -rctic Mon1e(s percei&e of the.sel&es
as perfor.ers and 0hether the identit( ascri'ed to the. '( the .edia and '( the
interpretation of their perfor.ance fits 0ith their o0n i.age of self*
#.+.#. 4ata from inter5ie1s. The inter&ie0 data consist of four articles 'et0een $006
and $0% ta1en fro. the online .usic section of The @uardian PT* -s 'efore 0ith the 2iff(
Cl(ro data, the Euestion is ho0 the 'and presents itself and ho0 the( are portra(ed '( the
Oournalist in ter.s of their heritage* 4n $ pages of articles, 0ords related to the PT, 2ritain,
London, Sheffield or Sor1shire are .entioned %: ti.es, roughl( t0ice per page and o&er ten
ti.es per article* -round $0 of these references are to Sheffield or su'ur's of Sheffield,
0hich indicates an o'&ious focus on that area in the perception of the 'and* ,o0e&er, a high
proportion of these 0ere found in the $006 article, 0here the Oournalist descri'es a tour of the
cit( that he too1 0ith the 'and, therefore naturall( .entioning the cit( Euite often*
The t0o ne0est articles ha&e a strong focus on -.erica, topicalizing first onl( the
singer's and then the 0hole 'and's .o&ing to L- and ho0 the( li1e life there* 4n the
perception of the 'and therefore, it is .ade o'&ious that their heritage is 2ritish, specificall(
Sheffieldian> ho0e&er, especiall( recentl(, there is a strong focus on the 'and's identit( as a
2ritish 'and li&ing and 0or1ing pri.aril( in the PS, 0hich strongl( connects the. to a
:9
different culture*
-s for the state.ents '( the 'and the.sel&es, the $0% article has the. focusing on
the topic of the success of the -rctic Mon1e(s in the PS 0here the .ost recent al'u. AM has
achie&ed so.e popularit( and the 'and the.sel&es the.atize -.erica to so.e e3tentB
($! ;+or an(one, no .atter 0hat stage of (our career (ou're at, it's still an a.azing
place to pla(; (,olpuch, $0%, referring to Madison SEuare @arden!*
(3! ;De'&e pla(ed here an a0ful lot* Most of our ti.e in the last se&en (ears or
0hate&er has 'een spent touring the PS, so 4 thin1 that's 'uilt up this fan'ase that's
'een 'u''ling, and 4 guess it's starting to spill o&er 0ith this record; (,olpuch, $0%!*
(%! ;4t see.s li1e so.e sort of &ictor(* 4 don't 1no0 0h(; (,olpuch, $0%!*
-ll of the a'o&e state.ents indicate a high interest in tr(ing to 'eco.e recognized on
the -.erican .ar1et* +or a 'and that started out opposing the .ainstrea. and proOecting a
highl( local identit(, this see.s a 'it counter intuiti&e 'ut on a professional le&el, it is a great
achie&e.ent for a 2ritish 'and to 'e recognized in the Pnited States* Cn the topic of st(ling
space, 2lo..aert ($008! e3plains that language can 'e used as a ;resource for st(ling a
.eaningful sense of place, or indeed places (plural! in .eaningful contrast to each other; (p*
$$!* Dhat the -rctic Mon1e(s do here is st(le -.erica as one of their 'iggest successes
professionall(, aligning 0ith the place not personall( 'ut professionall(, as do 2iff( Cl(ro* 4n
the ne3t fe0 e3a.ples, 0e 0ill see ho0 the( contrast this glo'al perspecti&e on success 0ith
their local identit(B
(8! ;Coo1, $9, ad.its the first ti.e he 0ent to Los -ngeles he thought 'it 0as a
du.p' these da(s he .ainl( li1es the 0eather; ()a(, $03!*
(7! ;"speciall( 'eing o&er in the PS* 4 guess 0e enOo( a certain le&el of anon(.it(
that so.e da(s allo0s (ou to 'e <***= incognisant of the fact that people 1no0 0ho (ou
:6
are; ()a(, $03!*
(:! ;)o (ou 1no0 0hat ,enderson's Relish isV <***= 4t's li1e Dorcester sauce 'ut a
.illion ti.es 'etter; ()a(, $03!*
)a( ($03! descri'es the 'and as ;reassuringl( un5L-;, 'ringing 'ac1 products fro.
2ritain and steering clear of the L- lifest(le* +ro. state.ent (8!, it 'eco.es clear that 0hile
the 'and chose L- as their ne0 ho.e, the( retain a certain distance fro. it* 2lo..aert
($008! 0rites that ;the greater the distance, the .ore general and less precise our categories
'eco.e* De tend to ha&e e3tre.el( nuanced and fine5grained categories for that 0hich is
closest to us, 'ut .a( ha&e to re&ert to si.ple stereot(pes; (p* $08!* Dhen co.paring
co..ent (8! 0ith co..ent (:!, 0here a 2ritish product is addressed that one of the 'and
.e.'ers freEuentl( i.ports to the PS, 0e can see the difference in precision &er( clearl(*
L- is e3e.plified '( its stereot(picall( good 0eather, 0hile 2ritain is conte3tualized 0ith a
&er( specific product* State.ent (7! additionall( stresses their relati&e no&elt( to 'eing in
L-* 2lo..aert ($008! also states that group .e.'ership is often deter.ined '( a ;social
categorization called otherin$; (p* $08!* 4t see.s the -rctic Mon1e(s are categorizing nati&e
Californians as others, esta'lishing a 2ritish identit( through contrast*
-uthenticit( is 'rought up in state.ents '( the 'and in so.e 0a( se&eral ti.esB
(9! ;4 guess 0here 0e'd co.e fro., the fact 0e 0ere a group of friends a long ti.e
'efore 0e 0ere a roc15and5roll 'and, that (authenticit(! 0as 1ind of 'uilt5in <***= Dhen
the first al'u. ca.e out it 0as and still is the antithesis of pop stars off tele&ision
sho0s; ()a(, $03!*
(6! ;The .ain thing 4 learned is that 0hate&er it is that .a1es us sound li1e us is
'uilt into the four of us; ("llen, $0!*
($0! ;4 don't reall( 1no0 ho0 to 0rite a'out an(thing else, <***= 4 0ouldn't 0ant to
90
either* That's 0here 4 flourish*** 4 thin1 the 'est songs are longs reall(, aren't the(V;
()a(, $03!*
,ere 0e find t0o sorts of authenticit(* Cne is addressed e&en directl( in state.ent
(9! and can 'e associated 0ith 0hat Coupland ($00:! calls authenticit('s ;historical; Eualit(
(p* 90!* Real things ha&e to ha&e longe&it(, therefore the -rctic Mon1e(s see the.sel&es as
authentic alread( 'ecause the( ha&e e3isted as a 'and and 'efore that as friends for a &er(
long ti.e* The ;0here 0e co.e fro.; in the state.ent is not connected to a particular place
'ut to the friendship* State.ent (6! supports this '( esta'lishing that the .ost significant
thing a'out the 'and is the co.'ination of people in it* The -rctic Mon1e(s find authenticit(
on a le&el that is e&en s.aller than local, the( find it in their social group* ,ere 0e also again
ha&e a &er( indi&idual perspecti&e on 0hat counts as real (Penn(coo1, $00:'!*
The second sort of authenticit( is that 0hich 0as alread( .entioned in the anal(sis of
2iff( Cl(ro* 4n state.ent ($0!, -le3 Turner sa(s that he is 'est at 0riting a'out lo&e, 0hich is
one of the .ain l(rical tropes of popular .usic (Coupland, $0!* Li1e 2iff( Cl(ro, the
-rctic Mon1e(s through this appeal to hu.an nature 0hich 'ears Coupland's ($00:!
authenticit( Eualit( of ;ontolog(;*
The clai.s .ade '( 2eal ($006! that the 'and tried to sta( out of the .ainstrea. are
also to so.e degree addressed in the articles, as 0ell as their initial un0illingness to tal1 to
the pressB
($! ;4n the earl( da(s, 0hen 0e 0ere getting as1ed Euestions, 0e 0ere 9 or 6 and
(ou don't e&en tal1 that .uch to (our friends* Dith lads it's, '-ll rightV' 'Seah*'
There's lots of 'asic grunting* Ao0, once (ou get older, it gets a 'it easier* De'&e all
de&eloped our con&ersational s1ills; ()a(, $03!*
($$! ;a 'it of a defence .echanis. that 1ic1ed in* Dhen the first al'u. 'le0 up, 0e
9
shut a lot of people out, Oust to tr( to 1eep so.e sort of control; ("llen, $0!*
($3! ;4t's Euite unusual to ha&e all these people as1ing Euestions* Still no0, tal1ing
a'out .(self is strange* 4f (ou do it for a long ti.e, it puts (ou in a 0eird place;
("llen, $0!*
These state.ents sho0 that the earl( assu.ption that the 'and 0as a&oiding the press
in an atte.pt to oppose the .ainstrea. see. not to 'e ho0 the 'and the.sel&es percei&ed
their hiding fro. the press* This supports the discourse anal(tic assu.ption that ;a lot of
0hat happens in the field of identit( is done '( others, not '( oneself; (2lo..aert, $008, p*
$08!* Dhile the -rctic Mon1e(s the.sel&es tried to 1eep control of their adolescent li&es and
fought sh(ness and lac1 of co..unicati&e s1ills, the press assigned the. a .ore aggressi&e
identit(* This also has to do 0ith the ;unpredicta'le .o'ilit( of linguistic resources in &ie0 of
identit( effects* -t the sa.e ti.e, these resources displa( #ifferent effects, depending on their
connections 0ith particular 5 ordered 5 inde3icalities; (2lo..aert, $008, p* $3H$3$!* The
(oung -rctic Mon1e(s could not predict their 'eha&ior to0ards the press 0ould ha&e the
effect it had, 'ut in hindsight, the( understand the connection*
-s for the change in l(rical direction that 0as .entioned in the l(rical anal(sis, the
'and also has their o0n perception of 0h( the( turned a0a( fro. the highl( localized
languageB
($%! ;4f onl( to pro&e that it 0eren't all a'out those $ songs a'out the chip shop;
("llen, $0!*
($8! ;That l(ric 0as Oust for a s.all circle of people, to .a1e the. laugh* 4t didn't
occur to .e that it 0ould end up stri1ing a chord 0ith a larger circle; ("llen, $0!*
($7! ;4 thoughtB 0hat is this, can 4 1eep this goingV 4t 0as then 4 realised song0riting
is a craft and 4 could 0or1 and get 'etter at it* -nd hopefull( 4 ha&e; ("llen, $0!*
9$
($:! ;4t's Oust hu.our* 4 tried to get t0o )uran )uran references into e&er( second
song at one point, 'ut couldn't .anage it in the end; (-r.itage, $006!*
These four state.ents sho0 that the de&eloping a0a( fro. the topics of the first
al'u. is fra.ed '( the 'and as the de&elop.ent of s1ills as a song0riter ($7!* -t the sa.e
ti.e, though, it see.s that the 'and does not ta1e their 'e3tre.e' Sheffield identit( as
seriousl( as it 0as percei&ed* State.ent ($%! clearl( sho0s that the topics of the songs 0ere
.ore tri&ial to the. than an(thing else and ($8! and ($:! eEuall( hint at the local references,
.ostl( 'eing hu.orous and e&en inside Oo1es, rather than a rigorous perfor.ance of a local
identit(* Cf course, this does .a1e the earl( l(rics authentic in their o0n 0a(, as Turner put
his o0n hu.or and in5group references into the.* ,o0e&er, it stresses not the identit( of the
'and as local 'ut as .usicians that de&eloped their s1ills o&er ti.e*
-s 0ith the state.ents 'efore, 0e 0itness ho0 identit( features are al0a(s percei&ed
differentl( depending on the conte3t in 0hich the( appear* @ee ($0! esta'lishes that e&er(
indi&idual has the capa'ilit( to act out an identit( as an e&er(da( person '( stating that,
;0hen 0e tal1 and act as e&er(da( people, 0e all tal1 and act differentl( depending on our
o0n dialects and cultures; (p* 0:!* -s e&er(da( people, 0e tal1 a'out co..on things in
&ernacular st(le* To .e, it see.s that this 0as 0hat the -rctic Mon1e(s 0ere doing,
especiall( in the 'eginning of their careerB -cting as e&er(da( people, in their &ernacular,
0ithout gi&ing it too .uch thought* 4n the 0ider conte3t of popular culture, the(, through
this, glo'alized their local persona and 0ere percei&ed as local to the e3tre.e of opposing the
.ainstrea.*
Their .o&ing a0a( fro. this 1ind of 'eha&ior and acti&el( to0ards .ore glo'al and
if 0e 'elie&e state.ent ($%!, .ore i.portant, topics, is seen as a sort of 'etra(al of their local
identit( in the e(es of the pu'lic, 0hile the 'and fra.es it as part of gro0ing up and
93
de&eloping professional s1ills ($8!*
#.+.,. 4iscussion. The anal(sis of the data concerning the -rctic Mon1e(s 'egins
0ith &er( strong local ties and a .ultitude of local place inde3es in l(rics, &ideos, accent and
inter&ie0s* +ro. the outset, the -rctic Mon1e(s 0ere strongl( connected to Sheffield and
represented the (outh of the to0n '( spea1ing and acting li1e the. and additionall( singing
a'out topics that concerned the.* Their identit( at the 'eginning 0as therefore strongl(
defined '( place (2lo..aert, $008!* 4n this conte3t, authenticit( 0as achie&ed through local
0a(s of 'eing and sta(ing true to their heritage, in accordance 0ith the local Eualit( of
'1eepin' it real' (Cutler, $003> Ter1ourafi, $00!*
- later shift to0ards less local, .ore national and e&en international place inde3es,
sho0s a de&elop.ent of the 'and as contenders on the international .usic .ar1et, 0here
increasing success see.s to ha&e influenced, in part, e&en the accent of the singer* This
reflects 0hat Cra.er and ,allett ($00! ha&e found 0ith hip hop artists in -.erica, 0ho
.o&e a0a( fro. highl( local perfor.ance 0ith increasing success to open up the discourse
to 0ider audiences* -dditionall(, there is al0a(s a tension 'et0een standardization and local
language, 0hich has to 'e 'alanced out in order to .aintain the product's &alue on the .ar1et
(,eller, $00!* The sa.e goes for glocalization, 0here local features are al0a(s pulled into
glo'al conte3ts* ,igher success outside of @reat 2ritain de.anded the ta1ing up of this
pro'le. for the -rctic Mon1e(s, 0ho had to find a 0a( to 'oth e3ist as authentic .e.'ers of
a glo'al culture and .e.'ers of their societ( of heritage*
-dditionall(, it see.s the 'and tries to neutralize their initial perception as highl(
regionall( .ar1ed and greatl( opposed to the .ainstrea. '( e3plaining their earlier 'eha&ior
0ith (outh and a lac1 of co..unicati&e s1ills, gi&ing the i.pression the( sa0 the.sel&es
.ore as e&er(da( people (@ee, $0! than as defenders of local &alues on the .usic .ar1et*
9%
This underlines 2lo..aert's ($008! discourse anal(tic assu.ption that identit( 0or1 is done
'( others and not onl( '( oneself*
#.#. Analysis of Ma.imo Park
-s 0ith the t0o 'ands 'efore, the follo0ing anal(sis 0ill again e3a.ine in detail
l(rics, phonolog(, &ideos and inter&ie0s, this ti.e focusing on the Ae0castle 'ased 'and
Ma3i.o Par1*
#.#.1. $yrical analysis. The initial count of place references in Ta'le %** in Chapter %
sho0ed that Ma3i.o Par1 ha&e an al.ost eEual nu.'er of national and international
references* This is especiall( &isi'le on the first al'u., A Certain 1ri$$er* ,o0e&er, as
alread( .entioned, references to foreign tra&el are often .ade to indicate so.eone else is
lea&ing 0hile the song's protagonist is sta(ing 'ehindB
Run along 'ac1 to (our ne0 .an
Li.assol, hold on, 4 couldn't trap (ou
Sou'&e got to catch an earl( plane
-nd it's no surprise 4'. standing still
@ee ($0! instructs us that utterances al0a(s ha&e to 'e set in conte3t* Dhile
Ma3i.o Par1's references are to international places, the( are set in the conte3t of the rest of
the l(rics uttered '( so.eone 0ho is not hi.self going to those places* This is a different
t(pe of localization, 0here ;se.iotic .aterial fro. Welse0here/ is .ade to spea1 Wfro. here/
and Wto here,/ dra0ing on a range of se.iotic resources for its ne0 inde3ical grounding;
(-ndroutsopoulos, $00a, p* $08!* Ma3i.o Par1 localize the.sel&es '( dra0ing on contrasts
0ith other places, a for. of glocalization 0here the glo'al is .ade local* References to
industrial landscapes and to London on this al'u. also point to a national point of
referencing*
98
The second al'u. sets a si.ilar setting, .entioning the 'Trans5Pennine', a northern
"nglish train co.pan(, the 'Aorth Sea' and again ur'an settings ('transportation lines in
to0ns'!* Pu'lic transport is often used as a place instance, con&e(ing the picture of so.e'od(
in .otion 'ut al0a(s in a li.ited space, 0hile others tra&el further* This adds to the a'o&e
state.ent, 0here the glo'al is .ade local through references of other people's tra&els* The
protagonist .a( ha&e a longing for foreign places 'ut sta(s strongl( grounded in a local
conte3t*
More instances of referencing foreign places are also .ade in later al'u.s, as for
e3a.ple on 1oo M%ch 'nformationB
4'&e ne&er 'een to Me3ico Cit(, 'ut 4 recognize the light
4'&e ne&er 'een to Santiago 5 its histor( 1eeps .e up at night
These references can 'e connected to the principle of &oicing* The protagonist of the
song does not clai. ;o0nership; of these places in his utterances (Coupland, $00! 'ut
instead clai.s 1no0ledge of the. through other sources* 4t can 'e ;filled in; (@ee, $0,
p*$! fro. the conte3t that he is a freEuent reader* ,is in&est.ent into foreign places co.es
fro. literature* -gain, localization is achie&ed through contrasting the real places 0ith
theoretical 1no0ledge of the., .a1ing the glo'al local* The literar( interest and 0orldl(
out&ie0 of the 'and, can also 'e seen in references to international 0riters li1e L(dia )a&is
and song titles li1e -%ssian Literat%re*
Cther references are, as said, .ostl( .ade on a national le&el* The al'u. >%icken the
;eart includes references to 'Sight ? Sound', a .agazine pu'lished '( the 2ritish +il.
4nstitute, '2ri3ton' and its fa.ous 'roller disco' set in London, the '.etro' and 'Aorth0est
'liss', possi'l( an allusion to the setting of northern "ngland* Cn 1he .ational ;ealth, 0here
the title alread( proclai.s a national orientation, references 0ere found directl( to "ngland
97
and its council, stating e&en so.e social criticis.B
"ngland is ill and it is not alone
4 heard it through the tin( spea1ers on a ca.era phone
4n addressing "ngland directl( in this 0a( and hinting at the fact that other nations
face si.ilar pro'le.s, Ma3i.o Par1 sho0 a concern for their countr( and its societ(* This is
done '( a &er( slight shift of place* Most place references to "ngland see. to, &er( generall(,
inde3 local 'elonging* These .ore concerned references ho0e&er, inde3 a larger conte3t,
reaching to critical &ie0s of politics and societ(* ;People 'shift place' freEuentl( and
delicatel(, and each ti.e, in &er( .ini.al 0a(s, e3press different identities* Such identities
conseEuentl(, can 'e seen as generated '( particular topics or discursi&e .o&es; (2lo..aert,
$008, p* $$%!*
-part fro. the perfor.ance of a national "nglish identit(, Ae0castle as place of
origin is also e3pressed 'ut so.eti.es in .ore su'tle 0a(sB
Standing '( the Monu.ent Oust 0aiting for the rain
4'. Oust passing .( ti.e 0ith (ou on .( .ind
4n the l(ric section on the official ho.epage of the 'and, the 0ord .onu.ent is
capitalized and the co..ent section on a l(rics 0e'site sho0s that there is a .onu.ent in
Ae0castle, 0here people usuall( set their .eeting points in the cit(
7
* This is a clear in5group
reference, gi&ing a local Ae0castle audience a chance to read the situated .eaning of the
reference* Dords and phrases can 'e ;gi&en situated .eanings that are nuanced and Euite
specific to the spea1er's 0orld&ie0 or &alues or to the special Eualities of the conte3t the
spea1er is assu.ing and helping to construe or create; (@ee, $0, p* 8%!* Listeners that
share the sa.e 'ac1ground as the 'and 0ill read the conte3t differentl( than those that do not
1no0 @re( Monu.ent in Ae0castle* ,o0e&er, the reference is &ague enough in this case to
7 .oteB See httpBHHsong.eanings*co.HsongsH&ie0H38309$$0:989787%3H
9:
not e3clude out5group audiences, as 0ould .ore specific references (Cra.er ? ,allett,
$00!*
-part fro. references to place directl(, '( na.ing the., Ma3i.o Par1 do so.ething
that the other t0o 'ands do not .a1e use of* The( occasionall( s0itch to other languages,
0hich is a highl( st(lized tool of reference* L(rics include for e3a.ple the 0ord ''anlieue',
+rench for su'ur' 0ith a negati&e connotation, and sentences in 'oth Latin and @er.an*
These code5s0itches are of s(.'olic natureB ;Dhen these <languages= are non5'ase and their
co.prehension cannot 'e guaranteed, their .eaning is sought not in their propositional
content 'ut in their groups of spea1ers; (-ndroutsopolous, $00', p* $8!*
+rench is usuall( considered a ro.antic language, ho0e&er the song Banlie%e
descri'es the dangerous and often &iolent conditions in poor neigh'orhoods, possi'l( using
the language as a .ethod of contrast* Latin, 'eing a dead language indicates education and
1no0ledge* @er.an is an interesting e3a.ple 'ecause of the ;0idespread co..anding,
stern, disciplined associati&e attri'utions of @er.an (articulated, for e3a.ple, through 0ar
.o&ies!; (2lo..aert, $008, p* $06!* These attri'utions gi&e the translation of 'fear eats the
soul' into @er.an (e&en if 0rongl( translated! additional strength and associations* )iscourse
theor( assu.es that ;different sign s(ste.s represent different &ie0s of 1no0ledge and
'elief, different 0a(s of 1no0ing the 0orld; (@ee, $0, p* 37!* The use of .ultiple
languages in Ma3i.o Par1's l(rics therefore indicates an openness to different 1no0ledge and
'elief s(ste.s, 0hich sho0s their transcultural orientation*
4n contrast, songs such as Mi##lesbro%$h Man, an ode to the northern "nglish cit(,
again, indicates close 'ounds to region, 0hich the( perfor. for local as 0ell as international
audiences* This is, again, an instance of the ;increased circulation of cultural artefacts across
national and ethnolinguistic 'orders; (-ndroutsopoulos, $00a, p* $08!, a co..on
99
pheno.enon in cultural glo'alization, hence, glocalization*
Cn the 0hole, Ma3i.o Par1 use little slang or 2ritish e3pressions 'ut .ention their
ho.e land se&eral ti.es, directl( and indirectl(, identif(ing the.sel&es 0ith "ngland and
e&en especiall( the north of "ngland* -dditionall(, the( use Euite a fe0 greater "uropean and
international references, often in connection 0ith the tra&el of others and position the.sel&es
as criticizing the .odern, highl( technological societ( 0ith the al'u. 1he .ational ;ealth.
The( therefore proOect an identit( in their l(rics, fir.l( connected to "ngland 'ut 0ith a &er(
0orldl( out&ie0, shaping this as Ma3i.o Par1's glocalized identit(* The ne3t section sho0s
0hether their use of phonological features de.onstrate eEuall( strong ties to nationalit( or
0hether the( hint rather at a glo'al perspecti&e*
#.#.". Phonoloical analysis. The phonological anal(sis 0as done 0ith the sa.e
&aria'les as that of the -rctic Mon1e(s, as 'oth 'ands ste. fro. the north of "ngland* The
follo0ing ta'les sho0 the o&erall anal(sis and then a .ore detailed one of the last t0o
al'u.s, as the &ariants are e3clusi&e pronounced the Ao" 0a( on the first three al'u.s (sa&e
for one e3ception!*
'a)le #./. Phonological -nal(sis of Ma3i.o Par1, C&erall
Varia'le Ao" &ariants -." &ariants
<t= as in 'etter 8 7
<a= as in 'ath 6 8
<r= as in girl 09 5
<i= as in right 7: 5
<o= as in 'od( $0 5
<o= as in lo&e %9 5
Total $77 (67a! (%a!
96
'a)le #.0. Phonological -nal(sis of Ma3i.o Par1, $0$5$0%
Varia'le $0$ $0%
Ao" -." Ao" -."
<t= as in 'etter 3 3 8 3
<a= as in 'ath $ 5 3
<r= as in girl $0 5 $8 5
<i= as in right 9 5 9 5
<o= as in 'od( % 5 3 5
<o= as in lo&e 5 9 5
Total %: (60a! 8 (0a! %6 (96a! 7 (a!
-s 0ith the -rctic Mon1e(s 'efore, the anal(sis of the ten Ma3i.o Par1 songs
indicates a &er( sta'le accent o&er the course of the nine (ears that passed since the first
al'u.* This suggests to a certain e3tent that front.an Paul S.ith is singing in his o0n accent
and has no aspirations to change this*
To spea1 in ter.s of processes of social conte3tualization, it could 'e said that Paul
S.ith is ;&oicing; hi.self and therefore clai.s o0nership of his l(rics (Coupland, $00:, p*
%!* ,e is .a1ing use of a self5conscious perfor.ance of dialect 0hich can ;ser&e to
e3plicitl( lin1 speech for.s that people thin1 of as local 0ith local places; (#ohnstone, $00,
p* 36$!*
The fe0 e3ceptions that 0ere found al.ost e3clusi&el( in the last al'u. see. to 'e
due to the fact that the <a= &aria'le in 0ords such as 'as1', 'last', 'standing' and 'landing' is
pronounced HYH generall( in the accent of the singer* "speciall( 0ith 'last' this see.s
plausi'le, as it is the onl( e3ception found in an( of the first three al'u.s* -dditionall(, the
instances of <t= flapping o'ser&ed, occur in places 0here constraints that are not associated
0ith accent .a( pla( a role in pronunciation, na.el( the ;general need to follo0 a .elod(
line and a rh(th., prosodicall(; (Coupland, $0, 8:8!* The flapped pronunciation .ight fit
60
these constraints 'etter than a stop sound* -lso, no features are e&er e3clusi&el( pronounced
0ith the -.erican &ariant* -n acti&e atte.pt at dialect st(lization 0ould result in greater
consistenc( and a spread to .ore of the &aria'les* Ae&ertheless, a 'eginning accent
.odification due to greater international e3posure cannot 'e ruled out, and it re.ains to 'e
seen 0hether this trend continues in co.ing recordings*
-nother point to .ention is that so.ething that the data anal(sis does not include is
the fact that Paul S.ith also has a tendenc( to .onophthongize diphthongs, as is co..on in
Scottish "nglish* -lthough instances of this ha&e not 'een counted, it gi&es his o&erall accent
an e&en stronger differentiation fro. -.erican "nglish* Thus far, 'oth the l(rical and the
phonological anal(sis ha&e indicated the proOection of a strong local affiliation of Ma3i.o
Par1 0ith "ngland and their regional &ariet( of speech* Ae3t, 0e turn to their .usic &ideos to
see 0hether the( follo0 in this path*
#.#.+. Place instances in music 5ideos. Ma3i.o Par1's &ideos ha&e &er( fe0
instances of place, neither national nor international and can therefore not 'e said to 'e ai.ed
at a particular group of audience 'ut could appeal to audiences generall(* The 'and produced
a 0hole of 7 .usic &ideos, four of 0hich are fro. the first al'u., of 0hich none gi&e an(
indications of their place of origin or a 0ill to localize the i.ages*
The &ideo for Books from Boxes on the second al'u. sho0s a cit( '( the 0ater,
industrial parts and a gra&e(ard* The landscapes and architecture could point to an "nglish
cit( and in5groups fa.iliar 0ith the surroundings can possi'l( interpret a stronger local
conte3t into this &ideo '( .eans of reading ;situated .eanings; (@ee, $0!, 0hich re.ain
hidden for audiences 0ithout a local conte3t*
The &ideo for Karaoke Plays0 ho0e&er, sho0s a clearl( "nglish 'us, 0ith the dri&er
on the left side as 0ell as 2ritish coastal landscape* The sign on the 'us reads 'oth
6
'-.sterda.' and 'Paris' for a short a.ount of ti.e, indicating, along 0ith the l(rical anal(sis,
a 2ritish setting co.'ined 0ith allusions to other places* This reflects, again, a .i3 of
cultural inde3es* -s in the l(rics, foreign tra&el is indicated, 'ut the 'us sta(s fir.l( on
"nglish ground* This supports the assu.ption that Ma3i.o Par1 .a1e glo'al .aterial spea1
fro. and to a local place (-ndroutsopoulos, $00a! and strategicall( localize features of
other cultures '( .eans of contrast*
Cf the al'u. 1he .ational ;ealth, the &ideo to ;i)s an# Li)s is one of the onl(
&ideos that is oriented nationall( and e3clusi&el( so. 4t sho0s onl( one roo., 0hich is full of
Ma3i.o Par1 paraphernalia, e&en 'lo0 up dolls 0ith their faces on the.* 4n the roo., a
clearl( "nglish fan 0ith a strong "nglish accent dances to the song and in the end has the
singer loc1ed in his 0ardro'e, ta1ing up the the.e of stal1ing* The actor here is Tho.as
Turgoose, an "nglish actor fro. Lincolnshire, 0ho is fa.ous for the .o&ie 1his is 6n$lan#.
The choice of actor allo0s interte3tual reference (@ee, $0, p* 78! to other products of
2ritish popular culture*
-nother &ideo on this al'u. is clearl( set in 2erlin, @er.an(, sho0ing li&e footage
fro. a concert the 'and pla(ed on a 2erlin tra.* Dhile the for.er &ideo inde3es a 2ritish
identit(, this one lea&es the conte3t of @reat 2ritain and sho0s the 'and as professional
.usicians pla(ing concerts in other places* The e3istence of 'oth t(pes of &ideos indicates
again the 0illingness of Ma3i.o Par1 to engage 0ith other cultures and the glocalizing
nature of popular culture*
Cf the t0o .ost recent &ideos, onl( one has place inde3es* 4n the &ideo Leave this
'slan#, the &ie0 out of the 0indo0 sho0s "nglish su'ur'an architecture* - picture is sho0n
of a certificate fro. the '"ast London 4n&entors Clu''* The &ideo is therefore set in "ngland,
'ut ta1ing into consideration the stor(line of the &ideo and the l(rics, there is a 0ish of the
6$
protagonist to lea&e his surroundings, sho0ing the tension 'et0een sta(ing at ho.e and
foreign tra&el that 0e ha&e alread( encountered in the l(rical anal(sis*
Cn the 0hole, the &ideo anal(sis resulted in fe0 allusions to specific places* 4f the(
0ere .ade, the( 0ere in all 'ut one &ideo .ade to "ngland or @reat 2ritain* The &ideo set in
@er.an( and place na.es in greater "urope on a 'us sho0s a .i3 of 2ritain and "urope,
again underlining Ma3i.o Par1's a0areness of transcultural processes in .ass5.edia that 0e
alread( encountered in the l(rical anal(sis* The relati&e lac1 of localization .ight indeed also
indicate a 'igger process* The &er( general, often perfor.ance5'ased &ideos are instances of
0hat is e3pected fro. a .ar1et perspecti&e* De see the effects of standardization, 0ith the
possi'ilit( of profiting fro. local features in niche .ar1ets (,eller, $00!*
#.#.#. 4ata from inter5ie1s. The inter&ie0 data collected fro. Ma3i.o Par1 is of a
slightl( different nature than that anal(zed for the t0o other 'ands 'ecause .aterial 0as not
as readil( a&aila'le as for the other t0o 'ands* -lso 0e ha&e t0o shorter articles that singer
Paul S.ith has 0ritten hi.self, in addition to one article that is of the sa.e nature as the ones
anal(zed for the other t0o 'ands*
C'&iousl(, a count of ho0 often the 0riter .entions local places is not as infor.ati&e
as for the other t0o 'ands* 4n the three pages of the $008 article, the PT, 2illingha. (0here
S.ith 0as 'orn!, @eordie (a person fro. Ae0castle! and Ae0castle are nonetheless
.entioned ti.es* Places directl( associated 0ith the 'and, such as Ae0castle, are
.entioned far .ore than national places, gi&ing the i.pression that the identit( assigned to
the 'and '( others is strongl( tied to the northern "nglish cit(* -gain an instance of ho0
identit( 0or1 is su'stantiall( done '( others (2lo..aert, $008!*
-s for the state.ents of the 'and the.sel&es, it is difficult to find inter&ie0s that
co&er state.ents of an(one in the 'and 'ut the singer* This indicates that the front.an does
63
.ost of the press co&erage 0or1 hi.self* The $008 article is a'out the inspiration for the
singer's song 0riting, gi&ing us clues a'out ho0 he hi.self interprets the songsB
($9! ;S.ith descri'es the. as 'tales of 0oe and &od1a'; ()* Si.pson, $008!*
($6! ;<,=e 'loses his head' and ro.ances girls 0ho, he tells .e, 'usuall( lea&e the
countr('; ()* Si.pson, $008!*
(30! ;Sou can't e3plain self5e3pression, 'ut 0hen (ou 0rite the songs, (ou 1no0 0hat
sort of people 0ill li1e the. <***= 2ecause (ou are that person; ()* Si.pson, $008!*
(3! ;Cur songs are 'uilt pri.aril( as a .eans of e3pressing oursel&es li&e, so to pla(
to ten thousand people in (our ho.eto0n, 0hile appearing on a 'izarre 'it of sou&enir
.erchandise is a scenario 0e 0elco.e; (S.ith, $00:!*
State.ent ($9! sho0s the t(pe of authenticit( Coupland ($0! descri'es for popular
.usic that 0e ha&e alread( encountered in 2iff( Cl(ro's l(rics* S.ith uses topics of hu.an
nature, as the( are appropriate for the genre* 4n connection 0ith state.ent ($6!, 0e can lin1
this to so.ething that 0as also true for 2iff( Cl(ro* 4n the l(rics, there 0ere se&eral
indications of the character of the songs 'eing left 'ehind, 0hile others engaged in foreign
tra&el* S.ith's state.ent sho0s that this is also an instance of ;fusing; (Coupland, $0, p
890! character and perfor.er* S.ith also uses topics of personal histor( and .a1es it possi'le
for the audience to esta'lish a relationship directl( 0ith hi. as a person* State.ent (30!
underlines this &er( directl(* Aot onl( does S.ith allo0 the audience to identif( 0ith hi.
directl( 'ut he also identifies 0ith the audience* Coupland ($00:! stresses that self5identit(
can ne&er 'e separated fro. audience design* To underline this, he uses the ter. ;the
relational self; (p* 90!, indicating a constant relation of self to interlocutors, in this case the
audience* S.ith is clearl( a0are of this and the fact that discourse al0a(s shapes
relationships (@ee, $0!* ,e see.s to ai. at creating a &er( personal relationship 0ith the
6%
audience* State.ent (3! supports this further '( adding i.portance to the notion of pla(ing
in front of li&e audiences, especiall( 'at ho.e'* Dhile stressing the i.portance of audience
further, this state.ent also adds a di.ension of localization to it that sho0s the 'and is part of
this culture* ,ere 0e can see S.ith hi.self creating cultural identit(, sho0ing that ;li&ing in
a culture has to 'e a self5refle3i&e process; (Coupland, $00, p* 3:!*
The songs are not onl( influenced '( personal histor( 'ut also '( an orientation to
places other than "ngland* 4t is .entioned that S.ith reads a 'oo1 on the ;post0ar Parisian
literar( scene; ()* Si.pson, $008! and studied art histor( and linguistics* Dhen tal1ing a'out
ho0 6:0's +rance inspired one of his songs he sa(sB
(3$! ;The thing a'out li&ing in a s.all to0n 0ith scant access to culture*** (ou ha&e to
rein&ent (ourself and loo1 for so.ething .ore e3citing; ()* Si.pson, $008!*
This state.ent is fascinating 'ecause S.ith hi.self &oices the principles of
glocalization, .ediating a local identit( in the face of a glo'al culture that is infinitel( larger*
This is also an instance of cultural h('ridit( (Coupland, $00!, since 0hat goes for the l(rics,
0hich .i3 other cultures into the "nglish ''ase' culture, goes in the sa.e 0a( for S.ith
personall(, 0ho li&ed in a s.all to0n and onl( longed for other places* ,e thus clai.s
o0nership of his l(rics and perfor.ance (Coupland, $00:, p* %!*
The articles that S.ith 0rote hi.self ha&e .ore to sa( a'out local affiliation than
a'out the interest in other cultures, 0hich also has to do 0ith their topics* Cne is a'out
Sunda( League foot'all in Stoc1ton and the other is a'out the Ma3i.o Par1 designed &ersion
of a Ae0castle 2ro0n -le 'ottle* ,ere are so.e state.ents that reflect identit( 0or1B
(33! ;4 don't drin1 'eer and 4'. not a @eordie; (S.ith, $00:!*
(3%! ;4'. fro. a s.all to0n called 2illingha., so 4'. in a decent position to o'ser&e
the pride attached to a hu.'le 'ottle of Ae0castle 2ro0n -le; (S.ith, $00:!*
68
(38! ;-s 4 .entioned 0e ha&en't reall( got a taste for 'eer, 'ut at that point, after a
fe0 gulps, it tasted &er( s0eet indeed* 4t tasted of ho.e; (S.ith, $00:!*
4n state.ent (33! S.ith decidedl( ;others; (2lo..aert, $008, p* $08! people that are
originall( fro. Ae0castle, 0ho are often referred to as @eordie, 0hich .eans he indicates
that he is setting hi.self apart fro. the.* "&en though S.ith has li&ed in Ae0castle for o&er
a decade, there is a sense of otherness, 0hich is often an integral part of identit( creation
(2lo..aert, $008!* ,o0e&er, the ne3t t0o state.ents sho0 that the personal distance fro.
@eordie identit( does not .ean that S.ith cannot appreciate it* ,e in&ests hi.self in
Ae0castle culture* This has to do 0ith a process of social conte3tualization that is called
;loading; (Coupland, $00:, p* %! and refers to ho0 in&ested a spea1er is in an identit( that
is 'eing negotiated* Precisel( 'ecause S.ith is not fro. Ae0castle 'ut can still associate
'pride' and 'ho.e' 0ith it, sho0s the salience of this identit( act*
Ma3i.o Par1 .anage incredi'l( 0ell to proOect a local pri&ate persona 0ith
international influences on a professional le&el, so.e0hat co.para'le to 2iff( Cl(ro* This
also hints at processes of glo'alization, 0here local features are ree&aluated on a glo'al
.ar1et and the other 0a( around and therefore to a certain degree glocalized* S.ith e&en
theorizes this hi.self* Dhat 0e can see here is a process co..on to the entertain.ent
industr(, ;an area in 0hich 0e o'ser&e an intriguing interaction 'et0een glo'alization and
location; (Lee, $00, p* %0!*
#.#.,. 4iscussion. 4n contrast to the other t0o 'ands, there is hardl( an( change in the
persona that Ma3i.o Par1 portra( o&er the (ears* Their l(rics are a sta'le .i3 of local
features, co.'ined 0ith references to international artists and places often in relation 0ith
'eing left 'ehind in the ho.e to0n* The sa.e can 'e o'ser&ed in inter&ie0 data, 0here
singer Paul S.ith directl( relates to this notion of 'eing left 'ehind and gro0ing up in an
67
en&iron.ent, 0here it 0as necessar( to connect local identit( to outside factors*
Their &ideos are al.ost e3clusi&el( free of local references, putting the .usic, not the
'and's heritage in the foreground* This is also a for. of authenticit( on the le&el of the
popular culture the 'and acts in, the international co.ponent of '1eepin' it real' (Ter1ourafi,
$00> Cutler, $003!, 0hile the phonological anal(sis sho0s a sta'le local accent adding the
local co.ponent*
Cn the 0hole, Ma3i.o Par1 present a picture of glocalization, 0here glo'al aspects
are .ade local insofar as the( .anage to .a1e the. ;spea1 'fro. here' and 'to here';
(-ndroutspoulos, $00a, p* $08!* The pri&ate persona so.eho0 sta(s grounded in a local
conte3t, 0hile reaching out to other cultures 'fro. ho.e' is a co..on thread in .ost areas of
anal(sis*
6:
,. (onclusion
The .ain conclusion that can 'e dra0n fro. the present stud( is that the effects of
glocalization that ha&e so intensel( influenced the stud( of hip hop .usic are &isi'le in the
identit( construction of the three anal(zed 2ritish 'ands as 0ell* 4n all three of the 'ands,
tendencies ha&e 'een found to .i3 glo'al and local features and to for. an identit( that
.ediates 'et0een 0hat is authentic on a local le&el as opposed to 0hat is authentic in the
field of the 0ider glo'al culture of popular .usic* ,o0e&er, the 0a(s in 0hich these three
'ands do it and the 0a(s in 0hich the relationship 'et0een the glo'al and the local de&elops
o&er ti.e is '( no .eans the sa.e for all of the.*
,.1. Summary of the Analysis
The first research Euestion that 0as as1ed 0as 0hat 1ind of references of place the
'ands e.plo( in the different aspects of their perfor.ance* +or 2iff( Cl(ro, it 0as
esta'lished that their l(rics lac1 instances of place for the .ost part* Cn a local as 0ell as
national le&el, hardl( an( instances 0ere found* Cn an international le&el, the( 0ere rare and
transcultural> l(rics see. to 'e influenced rather '( topics of hu.an nature and personal
histor(* The phonological anal(sis sho0ed that 2iff( Cl(ro initiall( see. to .a1e use of
dialect st(lization, using se&eral accent features that are not part of their local accent* This
tendenc(, ho0e&er, su'sides o&er ti.e, shifting to0ards .ore of a local accent* The .usic
&ideos, on the other hand, initiall( had so.e national inde3es of place in 'oth stor(5 and
perfor.ance5'ased &ideos, often .i3ing national s(.'ols li1e flags into an international H
-.erican discourse* The later &ideos onl( e.plo(ed this cultural .i3ing in &ideos that
feature li&e5 and 'ac1stage footage, sho0ing the 'and in a .ore personal .anner, 0hile
stor(5'ased and artistic &ideos either used international references or none at all* The last
aspect, the inter&ie0 anal(sis sho0ed a highl( local affiliation 0ith Scottish culture and
69
&alues on a personal le&el as 0ell as a personal in&est.ent in the .usic and a tendenc( to
orient glo'all( on a professional le&el, 0here the .usic al0a(s co.es first*
The l(rical anal(sis of the -rctic Mon1e(s sho0ed that initiall( the l(rics 0ere loaded
0ith local and national references of place on 'oth a le&el of direct inde3ing of certain places
and the use of local and national le3ical &ariants and slang* Dhile international references
0ere rare, the nu.'er of national and local references also su'sided o&er ti.e* The
phonological anal(sis sho0ed a si.ilar picture, if not as e3tre.e* 4nitiall(, a highl( local
accent do.inated the anal(sis* Variants 0ere produced locall( in all instances and
consistentl(* Cnl( on the .ost recent, and especiall( on the ne0est al'u., 0ere -.erican
&ariants audi'le and their nu.'er see.ed to 'e increasing, here also sho0ing a lea&ing
'ehind of the local .ode of perfor.ance* This is true for the &ideo anal(sis as 0ell, 0here the
first &ideos 0ere also highl( locall( inspired, 0hich 0as follo0ed '( &ideos that .i3 local
and international references, 0ith an interlude of e3tre.el( -.ericanized, h(perperfor.ed
&ideos* The inter&ie0 anal(sis ga&e a picture of a 'and that is professionall( &er(
internationall( oriented 'ut still see.s to thin1 of itself as differing fro. -.ericans*
-dditionall(, the 'and finds its authenticit( in a lifelong friendship and therefore long lasting
professional partnership* The shift a0a( fro. the highl( local perfor.ance is addressed as
influenced '( personal gro0th and de&elop.ent*
4n the case of Ma3i.o Par1, the l(rical anal(sis sho0ed an again different interpla(
'et0een national and international references* Dhile the o&erall nu.'er of national
references 0as higher, there 0as also a considera'le nu.'er of international references,
0hich .ost of the ti.e 0ere introduced 0ithin a local fra.e* The phonological anal(sis
sho0ed a &er( sta'le local accent 0ith fe0 indications of a trend to change that* The &ideos
0ere .ostl( 0ithout place references> if the( 0ere present, the( 0ere often su'tle* So.e
66
e3ceptions occurred* The inter&ie0 anal(sis here, 0hich focused on state.ents of the singer,
sho0ed a local affiliation 0ith a strong interest in transcultural the.es thought of fro. a local
point of &ie0, si.ilar to the l(rics*
,.". (onclusions 4ra1n from the Analysis
The second research Euestion as1ed 0hat 1ind of identit( the 'ands perfor. '(
.a1ing use of the 1inds of place references descri'ed a'o&e* 4n addition, the su'ordinate
research Euestion adds a chronological aspect to these identit( perfor.ance, to see ho0 it
changes o&er ti.e* Dhat 0e see in the data is that each of the 'ands has a different approach
to authenticit( and glocalization* The results of 2iff( Cl(ro sho0ed a strong association 0ith
non5local or e&en international topics in their .usic 'ut 0ith topics that Coupland ($0!
calls ;the l(rical tropes of popular .usic; (p* 8::!* These are not co.pletel( disconnected
fro. &ernacular culture 'ut ;popular in their o0n discourse; (p* 8::! 'ecause the( ta1e up
hu.an nature as a .ain topic* 2iff( Cl(ro's personal in&est.ent in their topics adds a la(er of
personal authenticit(, .a1ing use of the concept of ;ontolog(; (Coupland, $00:!* So.ething
that is authentic has a real e3istence in the 0orld* 4n this case for 'oth audience and
perfor.er* The sa.e idea of authenticit( is also e3pressed in the 2iff( Cl(ro inter&ie0s,
0here the( .a1e their personal in&est.ent in the .usic e&en .ore clear*
-part fro. this personal authenticit( in relation to 'eing authentic in ter.s of the
genre of popular .usic, 2iff( Cl(ro also engage directl( 0ith local and international places*
The de&elop.ent of their .usic &ideos sho0s that 0hile local and glo'al features are at first
.erged, resulting in identit( h('ridit( (Clar1e ? ,iscoc1, $006! in all 1inds of &ideos, the
later ones onl( .a1e use of instances of h('rid identit( for.ation in &ideos sho0ing li&e and
'ac1stage footage* Therefore, the ;on5stage; and ;off5stage; personas of the 'and are ;fused;
(Coupland, $0!, 0here the i.age .aterial has a personal co.ponent and 1ept apart 0here
00
the &ideos are strictl( professional and artistic* ,ere the local and the glo'al onl( .i3 on a
personal le&el, 0hile on a professional le&el things are 1ept .ore glo'al* This coincides 0ith
Coupland ($00! 0ho sa(s that ;identities .ight necessaril( 'e h('rid in the late5.odern
period 'ut the cultural essence cannot 'e under&alued; (p* 376!* 2iff( Cl(ro .a( engage in
the translocations and transcultural flo0s (Penn(coo1, $003, p* 8$%! of glo'alization and,
especiall( on a professional le&el, act .ore glo'all( than locall(, 'ut the( .anage to .aintain
a local identit( '( engaging 0ith local culture in inter&ie0s and putting their personal histor(
into their .usic* This sho0s that 0hat Penn(coo1 ($00:'! sa(s is trueB That 0hat counts as
real is su'Oect to indi&idual perception in ;dialogical engage.ent 0ith co..unit(; (p* 03!*
The -rctic Mon1e(s displa(ed a highl( local identit( at the 'eginning of the career
that stretched o&er all data sources* The( .ade constant use of local references, inde3ing
specific places and using distincti&e slang, 0hich sho0ed a high identification 0ith an in5
group audience (Cra.er ? ,allett, $00!* 2eal ($006!, in her anal(sis of the 'and, clai.ed
the( also adhered to a principle of the indie .usic genre to a&oid the .ainstrea. co.pletel(
'(, for e3a.ple, not tal1ing to the press and not going to a0ard cere.onies* -ccording to
2lo..aert ($008! as 0ell as #ohnstone ($00!, effort is reEuired to .a1e place sociall(
.eaningful* 4n ti.es of glo'alization, 'eing fro. a place alone is not enough an(.ore to
produce local identit( (#ohnstone, $00, p* %00!* The -rctic Mon1e(s filled their space 0ith a
.ultitude of .eaningful inde3es at first and therefore resisted to adhere to an( sort of glo'al
popular culture*
This attitude changed after the second al'u. 0hen the l(rics 'eco.e .ore neutral in
reference and slang use, and &ideos increasingl( .i3 local and international features*
Through this, the -rctic Mon1e(s 'egin to engage in a .ore glocal identit( perfor.ance '(
.a1ing the local glo'al (Lee, $00!* )istancing oneself fro. a &er( local identit( can of
0
course 0iden the audience and increase the possi'ilit( of success on a glo'al .ar1et through
processes of standardization (,eller, $00!, 0hile .a1ing use of local authenticit(
additionall( satisfies niche .ar1ets* -dditionall(, Cra.er and ,allett ($00! found that this
opening up to 'igger spaces is a co..on process for artists that achie&e a higher le&el of
fa.e 'ecause ta1ing a local identit( too far .ight ris1 the loss of audiences (p* $:! as 0ell
as straining the .ar1et tension 'et0een local authenticit( and intelligi'ilit( (,eller, $00, p*
38:!*
The trend to open up to the glo'al continues '( a slight increase also in phonological
features that do not 'elong to the ho.e accent of the 'and 'ut occasionall( to a .ore
standardized 2ritish accent, adding to the state.ents a'o&e* 2ecause of these tendencies, the
-rctic Mon1e(s 0ere criticized for 'eco.ing -.ericanized, 0hich the( countered '(
producing 'h(pera.erican' &ideos, ;.oc1ing; (Chun, $006! -.erican culture and therefore
proOecting the.sel&es as superior* 4nter&ie0s also sho0 that the( stri&e for -.erica on a
professional le&el 'ut 1eep a distance personall(* "&en though the( li&e in L-, the( 0ant to
'e understood as 2ritish '( .a1ing references to "nglish products and indicating distance to
-.erican culture* -t the sa.e ti.e, ho0e&er, the( are constantl( increasing their
professional presence in -.erica, a process of glocalization and 'eginning identit( h('ridit(*
Ae&ertheless, the -rctic Mon1e(s see the.sel&es as authentic, dra0ing fro. the
concept of ;historicit(; (Coupland, $00:!, .eaning so.ething that is authentic has a histor(*
The( find this authenticit( not in a place 'ut in a lifelong friendship and long e3istence as the
sa.e 'and* There are also authenticit( features si.ilar to 2iff( Cl(ro* The -rctic Mon1e(s
increasingl( use topics of hu.an nature, fitting to the genre of popular .usic, sta(ing true to
a glo'al culture (i*e* '1eepin' it real', Cutler, $003!* ,ere, on the 0hole, 0e ha&e an e3a.ple
of a 'and that graduall( gro0s into a h('rid identit( that is su'Oect to glocalization* Personal
0$
state.ents support this, clai.ing that the earl( local approach and .ainstrea. a&oidance 0as
.ostl( influenced '( hu.or, in5group references directed at friends and a lac1 of
co..unicati&e s1ills, sho0ing that the( acted .ore as ;e&er(da( people; (@ee, $0! than
.essengers of .ainstrea. a&oiding indie roc1*
Ma3i.o Par1 are different fro. 'oth the other 'ands insofar that the( sta(
surprisingl( sta'le o&er the 0hole of the anal(zed ti.e period* L(rical, phonological and
&ideo features .ostl( gi&e the sa.e i.pressions o&er ti.e* The l(rics sho0 a local
engage.ent 0ith other cultures due to references and code5s0itching* Ma3i.o Par1 .anage
to ;&oice; (Coupland, $00:! that these glo'al features do not 'elong to the. 'ut still use
the. con&incingl(* Through this contrast, the( .a1e the glo'al .aterial spea1 ;'fro. here'
and 'to here'; (-ndrotsopoulos, $00a, p* $08!* The( .a1e the glo'al local (Lee, $00!, all
the 0hile using a distinctl( northern "nglish accent and also .a1ing use of a nu.'er of local
and national references*
4n inter&ie0s, it 'eco.es clear that singer Paul S.ith is &er( .uch a0are of this
situation* Co.ing fro. a s.all to0n, he 'asicall( states that in order to ad&ance the self, it is
i.portant to e.'race foreign cultures* ,ere, as 0ith 2iff( Cl(ro, 0e also see personal
in&est.ent in the l(rics, 0hich is one 0a( of sta(ing true to oneself in a glo'alized culture, to
1eep it real and to ;fuse; character and perfor.er (Coupland, $0!* Paul S.ith not onl(
allo0s the audience to identif( 0ith hi. this 0a(, 'ut also .a1es state.ents that he identifies
0ith the audience and .a1es .usic for people li1e hi.self, sho0ing the i.portance of
audience concerns in identit( construction (Coupland, $00:!*
Ao0 that 4 ha&e su..arized the different identit(5proOection strategies and
approaches to glocalization that the 'ands .a1e use of, 4 0ill consider the Euestion of
0hether there are an( o&erarching patterns that 'eca.e &isi'le across the 'ands*
03
,.+. Similarities and 4ifferences )et1een the Bands
-s alread( .entioned a'o&e, the three 'ands all ha&e different approaches to identit(
proOection and first and fore.ost to .ediating their local identit( 0ith the forces of
glo'alization that the( ine&ita'l( .eet as persons in&ol&ed in .ass5.edia and popular
culture* There are certain tendencies that t0o or all the 'ands share, li1e personal in&est.ent
in l(rics and .usic, topics that confor. to regular trends in popular .usic and, to a certain
e3tent, local phonological features of their respecti&e ho.e region, as 0ell as the .i3 of local
and glo'al features on one le&el or another* ,o0e&er, the( all do this in different 0a(s* Dhat
0e ha&e encountered are three different trends of glocalization* +irst, 2iff( Cl(ro see. to
proOect a h('rid identit( that is increasingl( di&ided '( conte3t* Professionall(, the( displa( a
rather international approach* Dhere personal .atters are in&ol&ed, the( strongl( identif(
0ith Scottish culture and &alues* Secondl(, the -rctic Mon1e(s increasingl( .a1e use of
international features 'ut still constantl( .i3 local features into &ideos, inter&ie0s and l(rics,
as such, glo'alizing the local* Thirdl( Ma3i.o Par1 consistentl( .a1e use of international
features on a local le&el, .a1ing the glo'al local instead*
The co..on threads that ca.e up .ultiple ti.es during the anal(sis are for one the
personal in&est.ent in l(rics and .usic and additionall( the trend to identif( 0ith glo'al
popular culture, '( .a1ing use of the 'real' topics of ;funda.ental hu.an e3periences;
(Coupland, $0, p* 8::!* 2iff( Cl(ro do this throughout their 0hole career* Their topics are
those of lo&e, loss and struggle, al0a(s influenced '( personal e3periences and histor( 'ut
rarel( through local referencing in l(rics* The -rctic Mon1e(s increasingl( .a1e .ore
serious use of these topics 0ithout the Sheffield references, 0hich 0as 0hat .ade their l(rics
.ore personal in their earl( career* Later, rare references to the local are integrated into
glo'al topics, not the other 0a( around* Ma3i.o Par1 consistentl( .a1e use of these 1inds of
0%
topics, also influenced '( personal histor(, and integrate a nu.'er of local and international
references that al0a(s spea1 fro. a local perspecti&e, thus again, integrating the glo'al into
the local*
The use of local phonological features is the second co..on thread* -ll three 'ands
.a1e use of these* 2iff( Cl(ro increasingl( .a1e accent one of their personal features, in
0hich their Scottish identit( is consistentl( &isi'le, 0hile topics sta( glo'al and .usic &ideos
increasingl( separate glo'al and local* The -rctic Mon1e(s sho0 a slight decrease in initiall(
strongl( local phonological ties* This indicates a process of standardization 0hen it co.es to
accent 'ut 0ithout losing the local affiliation co.pletel( and therefore carr(ing it out onto a
glo'al .ar1et* Ma3i.o Par1 sho0 'asicall( no change in accent 'ut put for0ard glo'al
topics 0ith international references in a consistentl( local .anner*
The third co..on thread is the .i3 of local and glo'al features* 2iff( Cl(ro, in their
later output, .i3 local and glo'al features onl( 0hen personal .atters are in&ol&ed, li1e in
'ac1stage footage &ideos and inter&ie0 state.ents* The professional le&el is reser&ed for
international references* The -rctic Mon1e(s first do not .i3 features 'ut sta( local, 0hile
the( later increasingl( integrate local features into a glo'al, in this case -.erican conte3t,
especiall( '( their 'h(pera.erican' &ideos and their .o&ing to L-* ,ere, 0e ha&e a 'and that
co.es fro. a &er( local origin identit( 0hich the( then toned do0n 'ut didn't lose, 0hich is
0h( the( can still .a1e use of niche .ar1ets fa&oring local authenticit(, 0hile 'eing a glo'al
contender (,eller, $00!* Ma3i.o Par1 .i3 local and glo'al .ostl( in their l(rics and
inter&ie0s 'ut consistentl( fro. a local perspecti&e* The( in this 0a( perfor. &er( 0ell
according to ho0 Penn(coo1 ($00:'! defines '1eepin it real' in a glo'al conte3tB ;Teeping it
real in the glo'al conte3t is a'out defining the local horizons of significance, 0hile al0a(s
understanding the relationship to a 0ider 0hole; (p* 0%!* -s 0e can see, all three 'ands
08
engage 0ith the sa.e issues of glocalization 'ut al0a(s in different 0a(s, resulting in the
three different trends in glocalization stated a'o&e*
,.#. Suestions for &urther Research
The present stud( has gone a considera'le step further than Trudgill (69%! did 0hen
he anal(zed the isolated factors of phonological 'eha&ior> ho0e&er, there is still .ore that
could 'e addressed* 4 ha&e anal(zed three general tendencies that the 'ands in this stud( see.
to follo0* Ae&ertheless, it re.ains to 'e seen 0hether these are single cases or general
tendencies that .ore than Oust these 'ands .a1e use of* Van Leeu0en and Sulei.an ($00!
stress the i.portance of case studies in the face of glo'al .ediaB ;Case studies are needed
rather than s0eeping generalizations, studies of Oust 0hat is glo'al and 0hat local in the
.edia of countries and regions 0ith different recent histories; (p* $3$!* "&en though the(
focus .ore on a social and political perspecti&e than this stud( did, the i.plication is still
clear that it is i.possi'le to generalize 0hat i.pact glo'alization has on different for.s of
perfor.ance in .ass .edia and especiall( indi&idual perfor.ers* 4n order to see 0hether the
three tendencies of engaging 0ith the local and the glo'al in popular .usic appl( .ore
generall(, that is, to .ore than Oust the three 'ands anal(zed in the present stud( further,
si.ilar case studies 0ith other 'ands 0ould 'e needed, 0here the sa.e trends .ight 'e
o'ser&ed and isolated* Cn the other hand, if it turns out that anal(ses of other 'ands sho0
e&en .ore indi&idual trends in dealing 0ith e&er higher e3posure to glo'al culture, this 0ould
add to the i.portance of indi&idualit( in the face of .ass .edia and to the assu.ption a'o&e
that it is difficult, if not i.possi'le, to .a1e generalizations*
To get an e&en 'roader picture, it .ight 'e a suggestion to add e&en .ore la(ers of
data, 0hich 0as 'e(ond the scope of the present stud(* 4t 0ould, for e3a.ple, 'e possi'le to
anal(ze contrasts 'et0een li&e concerts and recorded .usic or e&en contrasts 'et0een li&e
07
concerts in different places to see 0hether the( are differences in perfor.ance in the face of
audiences fro. different cultures*
0:
References
-'ra.s, )* ? ,ogg, M*-* (69:! Language attitudes, fra.es of reference, an social identit(B
- Scottish di.ension* 9o%rnal of Lan$%a$e an# !ocial Psycholo$y0 &(35%!, $05$3*
-li., ,*S* ($006!* Translocal st(le co..unitiesB ,ip hop (outh as cultural theorists of st(le,
language and glo'alization* Pra$matics, 1+(!, 035$:*
-li., ,*S* ? Penn(coo1, -* ($00:!* @local linguistic flo0sB ,ip5hop culture(s!, identities,
and the politics of language education* 9o%rnal of Lan$%a$e0 '#entity an# 6#%cation0
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2lac10ell*
-ndroutsopoulos, #* ($00'!* Multilingualis., ethnicit( and genre in @er.an('s .igrant hip
hop* 4n M* Ter1ourafi ("d*!, Lan$%a$es of $lobal hi) ho) (pp* 65%3!* LondonB
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identit( in 2ritish indie .usic* 9o%rnal of 6n$lish Lin$%istics0 3((3!, $$35$%0*
2ell, -* (69%!* Language st(le as audience design* Lan$%a$e an# !ociety0 13($!, %85$0%*
2lo..aert, #* ($008!* =isco%rseB A critical intro#%ction. Ca.'ridgeB Ca.'ridge Pni&ersit(
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2lo..aert, #* ($00:!* Sociolinguistics and discourse anal(sisB Crders of inde3icalit( and
pol(centricit(* 9o%rnal of M%ltic%lt%ral =isco%rse0 2($!, 8530*
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2lo..aert, #* ($00!* 1he sociolin$%istics of $lobali/ation. Ca.'ridgeB Ca.'ridge
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.oc1ing at a P*S* high school* 'nternational Pra$matics Association0 1+(!, :539*
Clar1e, S* ? ,iscoc1, P* ($006!* ,ip5hop in a post5insular co..unit(B ,('ridit(, local
language, and authenticit( in an online Ae0foundland rap group* 9o%rnal of 6n$lish
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Coupland, A* ($00:!* !tyleB Lan$%a$e variation an# i#entity. Ca.'ridgeB Ca.'ridge
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!ociolin$%istics0 1(8!, 8:3570$*
Cra.er, #* ? ,allett, #* ($00!* +ro. Chi5To0n to the )irt(5)irt(B Regional identit( .ar1ers
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LondonB Continuu.*
Cutler, C* ($003!* ;Teepin' it real;B Dhite hip5hoppers' discourses of language, race and
authenticit(* 9o%rnal of Lin$%istic Anthro)olo$y0 13($!, $5$33*
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5%ar#ian. Retrie&ed fro. httpBHH000*theguardian*co.H.usicH$0HOulH$9H'iff(5cl(ro
@ee, #*P* ($0!* ;o" to #o #isco%rse analysisB A toolkit. Ae0 Sor1> LondonB Routledge*
@i'son, -* ($0!* +light of the ConchordsB Reconte3tualizing the &oices of popular culture*
9o%rnal of !ociolin$%istics0 1(8!, 70357$7*
@iles, ,* ? S.ith, P* (6:6!* -cco..odation theor(B opti.al le&els of con&ergence* 4n ,*
@iles ? R* St Clair ("ds*!, Lan$%a$e an# social )sycholo$y. C3fordB 2lac10ell*
,eller, M* ($00!* Language as a resource in the glo'alized ne0 econo.(* 4n A* Coupland
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,olpuch, -* ($0%, +e'ruar( !* -rctic Mon1e(s ta1e -.erica, finall(B '4t see.s li1e so.e
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an# $lobali/ation (pp* 3975%08!* ChichesterB 2lac10ell*
#ohnstone, 2* ? Mattson 2ean, #* (66:!* Self5e3pression and linguistic &ariation* Lan$%a$e
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Lee, #*S* ($00!* @localizing kee)in3 it realB South Torean hip5hop pla(as* 4n M* Ter1ourafi
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Lle0ell(n S.ith, C* ($00, Ma( $!* 2iff( Cl(roB 'De still feel li1e underdogs'* 1he 4bserver.
Retrie&ed fro. httpBHH000*theguardian*co.H.usicH$00H.a(H0$H'iff(5cl(ro5
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1he 4bserver. Retrie&ed fro. httpBHH000*theguardian*co.H.usicH$03HOanH$7H'iff(5
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and 0ith a Ao al'u.* =aily Mail. Retrie&ed fro.
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Melchers, @*, ? Sha0, P* ($003!* 2orl# 6n$lishesB An intro#%ction. LondonB ,odder*
Mesthrie, R*, S0ann, #*, )eu.ert, -*, ? Leap, D*L* ($006!* 'ntro#%cin$ sociolin$%istics ($nd
edition!* "din'urghB "din'urgh Pni&ersit( Press*
C',anlon, R* ($00:!* -ustralian hip hopB - sociolinguistic in&estigation* A%stralian 9o%rnal
of Lin$%istics0 2&($!, 635$06*
Penn(coo1, -* ($003!* @lo'al "nglishes, Rip Sl(.e, and perfor.ati&it(* 9o%rnal of
!ociolin$%istics0 ((%!, 835833*
Penn(coo1, -* ($00:a!* 5lobal 6n$lishes an# transc%lt%ral flo"s. LondonB Routledge*
Penn(coo1, -* ($00:'!* Language, localization, and the realB ,ip5,op and the glo'al spread
of authenticit(* 9o%rnal of Lan$%a$e0 '#entity an# 6#%cation, &($!, 058*
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,*S* -li.> -* 4'rahi. ? -* Penn(coo1 ("ds*!, 5lobal lin$%istic flo"s* hi) ho)

c%lt%res0 yo%th i#entities an# the )olitics of lan$%a$e (pp* $85%$!* Ae0 Sor1> LondonB
Routledge*
Pesche1, )* ($00:, Ao&e.'er 9!* 2et0een a roc1 and a soft place* 1he 5%ar#ian. Retrie&ed
fro. httpBHH000*theguardian*co.H.usicH$00:Hno&H09Hpopandroc1
Salda_a, #* ($03!* 1he co#in$ man%al for C%alitative researchers ($nd edition!* LondonB
Sage*
Si.pson, )* ($008, Ccto'er $!* Tales of 0oe and &od1a* 1he 5%ar#ian. Retrie&ed fro.
httpBHH000*theguardian*co.H.usicH$008HoctH$Hpopandroc1*.a3i.opar1
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S.ith, P* ($00:, )ece.'er 3!* 4'. drea.ing of a 'ro0n christ.as* 1he 5%ar#ian* Retrie&ed
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Ter1ourafi, M* ($00!* 4ntroductionB - fresh loo1 at so.e old Euestions* 4n M* Ter1ourafi
("d*!, Lan$%a$es of $lobal hi) ho) (pp* 59!* LondonB Continuu.*
Trudgill, P* (69%!* -cts of conflicting identit(B The sociolinguistics of 2ritish pop5song
pronunciation* 4n P* Trudgill ("d*!, 4n =ialectB !ocial an# 5eo$ra)hical Pers)ectives
(pp* %570!* C3fordB 2asil 2lac10ell*
Van Leeu0en, T* ? Sulei.an, P* ($00!* @lo'alizing the localB The case of an "g(ptian
superhero co.ic* 4n A* Coupland ("d*!, 1he han#book of lan$%a$e an# $lobali/ation
(pp* $3$5$8%!* ChichesterB 2lac10ell*
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localization in "g(ptian hip hop* 4n M* Ter1ourafi ("d*!, Lan$%a$es of $lobal hi) ho)
(pp* 7:568!* LondonB Continuu.*
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